Cidney Slikker In The County
So I’m sitting in my office working (really!) and in walks Ida Dobiz for our monthly meeting with one her friends in tow.
“Is that a JWP saddle your looking at”
“Why, yes it is” I replied.
“Nice, tooling - hand carved no doubt.”
“Why, yes indeed it is, look at that carving, its just incredible!”
“I’ll bet that saddle doesn’t get ridden” said Ima.
“Well, actually, it does get ridden on open trails and in the arena.”
“You actually know who owns that!”
“I do, and I am privileged to call them friends.”
“Lawyers have friends?” laughed Ima.
“Hard to believe isn’t it” I replied.
“Well, its good to see your working hard anyway” Ima said.
“Hey, gotta stay up with the latest in the industry.” I replied trying, but not managing, to put on a serious face.
“Well, not to worry I might forget to mention it to your wife - maybe.” Ida continued “depends if you can help my friend here, Kay Lamityjane”. Kay has been telling me about her neighbor and his antics. He’s trying to force her to stop roping and riding and everything else at her place - his kind just makes my blood boil! Why, I have a good mind to get my rope and…” at which point Kay Lamityjane spoke up “Now Ida, he isn’t worth that” Ima replied” I know, he just tweaks my nose.”
“Ms. Lamityjane, why don’t you tell me what’s going on” I said.
Kay explained “I have this neighbor, Cidney Slikker - he’s from “The City”, he says that means New York City. He also says that anyone who doesn’t know that is hick. Anyway, he buys the old place next to us, tears the house down, builds this huge, Georgian style McMansion, paints it Orange and Green, plants grass everywhere and puts those little lawn jockeys all around the place holding fake, glow in the dark horses. He even named it “Terra”, the whole thing looks ridiculous! Mr. Impressed with himself drives around in a 100% chrome plated Escalade equipped with a “racing” muffler that’s loud enough to wake the dead!
“You mean chrome everything?” I asked.
“Everything, top to bottom, front to back!”
“Oh, the fingerprints.” was my response (yup, married with kids and all the rest. How’d you know?)”.
Kay continued “He loves to tell anyone who will listen that horses are nice - just not next to his place and how he going to get rid of all the horses in “his neighborhood” so it will be “civilized”. “Know the type” I said “has he put a swimming pool filter in the stock pond yet?”
“You’ve been out there?” was the shocked reply.
“Just a guess.” I replied with a laugh. “Let’s start with where you live, your out in Maricopa County in a rural area, right?”
“Yup, everything around us is, or was, farms and ranches. Some of them have been broken up into smaller pieces, but we are zoned rural. On my place I keep my matched set of 8 white Lipizzaner Stallions and I am boarding 5 horses for friends as well.
“Are you charging for the boarding of your friends horses?” I asked.
“Yup, but I’m never goina get rich doin this” was the reply. We also do some roping and cutting, sometimes we even get as many as 20 people showing up. Heck, when all 542 members of my family show up its quite a party. Course, then ol’ Slikker drives over in his chrome Escalade and starts objecting to the noise, the cars, the color of the cows - there’s always something. His car is so loud that he has to shut his engine off or I can’t hear him threaten to “report me” to the county. I think he just might do it one of these days.”
“Hmmm” said I in my most lawyerly way. “It just so happens that Maricopa County changed the laws recently and that change is going to help you”. The stunned look on Kay’s face was priceless.
“You mean the law is on my side? He can’t report me!” stammered Kay.
“Oh, he can report you and to be technically correct, he would be filing a complaint. However, after he files his complaint, the question now is what will the county do about it? Happily, this very issue has been plaguing the board and many horse owners for some time. The county board recognized the value of horses and horse property to the county and so in July they enacted some changes to the county statutes. Let’s talk about how the new statute affects your situation. We will start with your horses. You can keep as many of your own horses as you want on your property. That was the rule before the July changes and it has not changed. Practically speaking, there may be limits imposed by other statute such as animal cruelty statutes however, most folks will not have any problems. Thus, your matched set of 8 Lipizzaner Stallions is fine. No violation, no action by the county.
Now, let’s consider your boarding situation. The new laws allow you to board up to 5 horses that you do not own and you can charge a fee for doing so. In fact, so long as you board no more than 5 horses your boarding enterprise will not be considered a business by the county. Again, no violation, no action by the county.
As for having all 542 family members over, if you can fit them in somewhere go for it - the county does not restrict how many people you have on your property for a private party. Obviously, if your party interferes with traffic flow on the streets or becomes a nuisance to your neighbors due to noise, for instance, you will have problems.
Finally, regarding your roping and sorting events, the county does not care how many bpeople you have over so long as it is a private party. If you start advertising the events to the public and so long as you do not charge any admission fees then, under the new statute you can have as many as 24 people without having a Special Use Permit. How’s that for pro-horse statute?”
“I have to ask you, what do you feed 542 family members?”
“Oh, they all love my clam chowder, I usually make that” was the reply.
Naturally, I couldn’t resist asking the next question “How do you make soup for 542 people?”
“Oh, its no big deal” was the reply “first, I start with 96 gallons of milk…”
Daniel Rosenfield’s practice in equine and ranch matters is enhanced by his experience in business law and litigation. For a detailed outline on the changes to the Maricopa County Rules please send you request to drosen@mrbusinesslaw.com. Phone: (480) 609-9700, mrbusinesslaw.com
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