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A long-run dispute between neighbors about the number of horses on a half-acre property could signal a positive change for Woodside’s backyard barns.
On Oct. 28, the Woodside Town Council allowed Glencrag Way resident Munish Manrao to keep his horses on his property by unanimously denying his neighbor’s appeal, which asked the town to take away a stable exception.
Woodside municipal code requires a minimum of 1-acre of land for two horses on a property, requiring Manrao to get an exception for his 0.45-acre home. It also notes that stable exceptions are not transferable when a property changes hands.
Manrao had been boarding his palomino horse Bling on his property for three years under the former homeowner’s stable exception. He wasn’t aware that stable permits were not transferable until his neighbor brought them up, he told The Almanac previously.
It wasn’t until he applied for a stable exception for his second horse Billie, that Manrao said he uncovered the hidden issues behind Woodside’s equestrian codes.
His neighbor and appellant, John Clark, said he appealed Manrao’s exception out of concern that the town is not following its own policies and allowing residents to bypass proper permitting processes. Clark called for the council to approve his appeal in accordance with the town’s written codes or to formally reduce the minimum property requirements for everyone.
“Approving two horses tonight opens a can of worms that might turn out to be highly problematic,” Clark said. “This precedent would effectively change the law in the town of Woodside and make Woodside Municipal Code 115 obsolete.”
Manrao argued that the 1-acre rule is antiquated. Trails Committee member Rick DeBenedetti said it was developed after hillslides began to slide after winter storms between the 1960s-80s due to horses being kept in small areas and destabilizing slopes.
About a dozen members of the local equestrian community shared their support for the stable exception.
Woodside resident Maggie Mah said that there are many properties that are less than an acre that have had horses on their properties with established permits and stable exceptions. Manrao’s case is not a “unique situation,” she added.
Mah, who serves on the Trails Committee, added that the town also has a flawed recordkeeping process.
“The town does a lousy job of keeping track of these (stable) permits,” said Mah. “We never know how many horses there are in Woodside or who has a stable permit.”
Manrao said the current system creates fear in the horse community, forcing some residents to renew and maintain their stable permits even when they don’t have horses, out of concern that they might lose their permit if it lapses.
The Town Council agreed that the dispute highlights underlying issues and complications with existing equestrian codes —preventing Woodside horse owners from easily keeping their equine friends on their property.
Councilmembers directed the Livestock and Equine Heritage Committee and Planning Commission to review changes that can be made to encourage more people to keep horses in Woodside.
“When I started on the council eight years ago, I was told that Woodside at one time had 800 horses or more,” said Councilmember Dick Brown. “What I’ve been told lately (is that) we’re down to 500 or less. To me, that is a disaster for a town that calls itself the home of horses.”
Horses are herd animals and need to be kept with others to prevent negative impacts to their psychological wellbeing, some community members said during public comment.
“We should be rewarding horse ownership in a town that claims to promote the equestrian community, not make it difficult,” said equestrian trainer Nicole Fava.
Councilmember Jenn Wall said she thinks this is an opportunity for the town to make updates and improvements to its codes with the expertise of the town’s committees and Planning Commission.
“Last night was bigger than our family and two horses,” said Manrao on Oct. 28. “We now have the opportunity to review and update the stable permit and transfer rules so they are better aligned with the town’s general plan and support the equestrian heritage we want to preserve for future generations.”
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