War Brewing over What
to Call Poop--
Horse that Is
Horse
Whispers
By
Royan Herman
The inexorable push
by government to meet LA housing needs began as a minor irritation,
threatening bits of individuality that most people barely noticed. Today
the entire nation, while traveling the interstates, passes in almost
every town the same Howard Johnson, McDonalds, Burger King, Wal-Mart,
Costco, Home Depot, etc., totally blah business scenery serving a
roboticized society that now barely notices the inability of poorly
educated cashiers to make change. Urban expansion continues, encroaching
on suburban and semi-rural areas by regulating away more individuality
of formerly free American citizens. Millions arriving in Los Angeles
live in garages, sheds, trailers, on industrial sites or anywhere with a
roof and a sink. The fact that some don't belong in the USA is grist for
another mill. But people moving close or onto manufacturing land are
having an impact on local industry. The city clearly wants businesses
and their taxes, but it is also charged with somehow making residential
existence bearable where it does not belong, in the midst of LA
industrial zones.
One industry chafing
from the pressures of urbanization is the horse industry. As an example,
less than five years ago commercial barn owners enjoyed a symbiotic
arrangement with nurseries. Barn CUP's required weekly manure disposal
and nurseries, most on "M" or "A" zoned land, were happy to take
delivery. Disturbed piles would smell of horse for a couple of days,
but overriding benefits of the relationship included zero cost to both
businesses, manure to fertilize plants for city residents and an
eco-friendly disposal that kept large quantities of "poop" out of city
landfills.
Land zoned for horse
keeping is a plum for developers always ready to convert it to high
density housing. The developers too often receive Council and Planning
Commission support, not because officials object to horse keeping, but
because they are obliged to meet State mandates to provide "X" housing
units in "X" time. The State, too, is under similar pressures from the
Feds.
Horse people have
remained vigilant and often succeed in keeping developers at bay in
equestrian neighborhoods. However, if the City continues to treat manure
as trash rather than a resource, at a $47.00 per ton trash charge for
disposal in the City dump, commercial barns will fail because overnight
the cost of disposal became more than the cost of feeding the horses.
Nurseries that historically took the manure are now under threat of
fines for using any unprocessed fertilizer because odors offend nearby
residents and the last business that encouraged low cost dumping and
mulched for profit departed Los Angeles last October.
There is a helpful
option available. The city can officially define horse manure correctly
as a 100% recyclable resource. Viewed as a source of mulch and energy,
manure might be a viable hook the city can use to solicit additional
federal dollars available for recycling programs and, specifically, the
Los Angeles Municipal Zero Waste Program.
While horse manure is
trash, the City threatens Los Angeles horse owners, Veterinarians,
farriers, horse trainers, commercial barns, hay growers, grain growers,
feed brokers, tack stores, saddle makers. truck dealerships, horse
trailer dealerships, mechanics for the specialized trucks and trailers,
horse event producers, silversmiths, Veterinary pharmaceutical
distributors, sand and gravel companies, horse dealers and breeders,
bedding suppliers, breed organizations, some of the nurseries, industry
related trade publications and all related personnel, to name a few,
with extinction. As commercial barns are priced into oblivion and the
concentrations of horses they house no longer exist in the area, there
won't be enough business to support equine service providers. They will
move, of necessity, to horse friendly areas, we will see the demise of
Los Angeles equestrian communities and the city will soon lose a little
over one billion (that's a B) dollars in business revenue from the horse
industry, each and every year.
If revenue and
employment is not enough to make the city interested in the plight of
horse communities, consider this: A 50 pound child sitting atop 1,200
pounds of muscled equine mass and guiding him with a loose rein, no
coercion and no fear. Envision the full range of human/equine
encounters. Might one conclude that we and they are genetically
hardwired in an enduring connection? Horses have not become unworthy
because they no longer till our fields and provide our transportation.
It is the role of the horse as a teacher of patience, responsibility and
fair treatment – many horses will not tolerate unfairness--that
justifies keeping this majestic species as a beloved part of our
increasingly sedentary and domesticated lives. It is the hope of horse
community Angelenos that Los Angeles will help its horse industry to
flourish and allow children and future grand children the joyful
experience a horse brings to life.
There is much to be
done. The Los Angeles Horse Council will provide a map for City Hall
that makes helping the horse community akin to falling off of the
proverbial log. But NOW!! the city must re-label horse manure, allow it
to be dumped as a recyclable product and charge dump fees commensurate
with its retail value as a Zero Waste Program resource suitable to
provide both mulch for LA greening and energy to light Los Angeles
lamps.
(Royan Herman is a
member of the board of the Foothill Trails District Neighborhood Council
and a horse owner.)
◘
CityWatch
Vol 6 Issue 52
Pub: June 27, 2008
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