Understanding community land use planning to achieve equine community goals. https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/proposals-2013/understanding-community-land-use-planning-to-achieve-equine-community-goals-1 https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/@@site-logo/sitelogo-75x75.png

Understanding community land use planning to achieve equine community goals.

Additional Information
Used for	ELCR is specifically requesting assistance for the build out of a primer for horsemen on community planning and zoning. The completed documentation will form a comprehensive manual on Community Planning for the Equine Community providing users with the tools they need to understand comprehensive planning, land use mapping, zoning ordinances, and the effects of these on horse keeping and other horse-related activities within their own local communities. The information will help them to be engaged in the process, to activate their equine community and to educate planners and decision makers on the benefits of horses in their communities.
Benefits	Since land is saved locally it is vital that horsemen understand the basics of planning and zoning and how this impacts horse keeping, breeding, competing and recreating, as well as equine related businesses in their communities in order to retain access to horses and enjoy their benefits. Planning and zoning decisions can affect how land is taxed, what it may be used for, and which standards and regulations are applied to it. These regulations determine not only whether individuals may keep horses on their own property, but also whether horses have access to community parks and trails. This project will provide beginning and advanced information, tools and other resources to horsemen, community leaders and planners to help them understand how to successfully include horses and horse-related activities in their community planning efforts, and why they should.
Proposal Description	ELCR is primarily concerned with the protection of and access to lands and facilities that allow horsemen and women to breed, raise, board, ride, show, drive, race and feed the 9.5 million or so horses in the U.S. ECLR educates horsemen in six core issue areas; Planning for Horses in Your Community, Conservation Tools for Horse Lands, Equine Access to Public Lands, Equine Access to Private Lands, Best Management Practices and Equine Economic Impact. At ELCR, we feel that effective community land use planning is a cornerstone in the efforts to keep land open and accessible for horses. A significant portion of our population lives in or near urban areas, this combined with continued development and urban sprawl is putting pressure on horse lands negatively impacting our population’s exposure to horses and threatening to put the equine experience out of reach to many. This project will focus on Community Land Use Planning. Horsemen and community members must understand the planning and zoning process and learn to participate in order to include favorable equine language in plans and ordinances. Ignoring this process will inevitably lead to lands and access lost to horsemen through poorly planned development and citizen’s unfamiliarity with livestock, agriculture and the benefits of open land. In a time of tight fiscal budgets and a recovering real estate market, agricultural lands, publicly owned open land and trails continue to disappear. Competition and conflicts between various user groups will certainly intensify with the most likely outcome being that horse people will lose more than they win. Clearly, not only are we threatened by the loss of land due to development and population growth, but also a loss of our equine culture, heritage and identity. While premier horse facilities, competition and recreational riding venues can exist close to and even in cities, local land use planning must purposefully incorporate them. For this to happen, horsemen must understand the basics of planning and zoning and be able to articulate the benefits horses bring to their communities as well as supporting community planners with information about incorporating horses into their local plans. In 2013 ELCR launched a revitalized website (www.elcr.org). The new site provides an updated, easy to navigate portal for members and the public to access our tools, information and resources. It also includes a new Report An Issue feature that will eventually help us map the landscape of horse facilities at risk. As part of an overall expansion of ELCR’s educational program curriculum, several key community planning and zoning resources will be developed. ELCR is specifically requesting assistance for the build out of a primer for horsemen on community planning and zoning. The completed documentation will form a comprehensive manual on Community Planning for the Equine Community. A nationally recognized planning expert with experience in planning for equine communities has already been identified to lead the writing and development of this manual. The manual and its parts will provide users with the tools they need to understand comprehensive planning, land use mapping, zoning ordinances, and the effects of these on horse keeping and other horse-related activities within their own local communities. The information will help them to be engaged in the process, to activate their equine community and to educate planners and decision makers on the benefits of horses in their communities. The material will be subdivided into flexible, easily accessed and palatable sections or learning modules, including: • General Overview of Community Planning and Zoning o Planning, Zoning and Horses in Your Community o How Planning and Zoning Came About o What Works for Protecting Open, Agricultural and Equine Land, And What Doesn’t o Who Are the Planners? Planning Commissions and How They Work o What is Zoning and How It Works in Your Community • Advanced Planning and Zoning o The Comprehensive Plan: A Framework for the Needs of the Community o Understanding the Land Use Map o Understanding Zoning Ordinances o Understanding Planning Processes – A Continual Process o How Urban and Rural Planning Work, Independently and Cooperatively, to Protect Open Land (Or Not!) o Tax Structure • Now That You Know – First and Next Steps for Horsemen o How to Find Planners, Decision Makers and Plans o How to Get Involved – Individuals and Organizations o What To Ask For – Additions and Alterations to the Comprehensive Plan For the Equine Community (Equine Language) o Monitoring The Changes – Once Established, Are Equine Plans, Regulations and Ordinances Being Followed? o Challenges to Equine Ordinances • Tying It All Together o No Comprehensive Plan Is An Island – The Need to Understand Other Community Considerations o Planning and Equine Economic Impacts o Ordinances and Land Management – Best Management Practices o Planning For Land Conservation and Protection o Planning For Recreation – Access to Trails and Open Space and Facilities Planning These learning modules will be presented in several formats, including written articles to be posted to the website and printed in equine and conservation publications; conference calls and webinars with presentations by subject experts; and seminars and workshops that will concentrate on one or more topics in-depth. Topics will be responsive to local, regional and nationwide issues alike and will complement our continued updates within our Best Management Practices core issue area. ELCR requests $10,000 to help cover the cost of production and dissemination of educational learning modules on planning and zoning for horsemen, community planners and community leaders. Grant funds from the Dougherty Foundation will be used to support the production of articles, tools and templates for the website, published materials, expert presenters, webinar management expenses, and seminar and workshop materials.