Horse park plan on final stretch

BRUCE ALEXANDER

The use permit for a proposed horse park southwest of Anderson, on the northwest corner of Balls Ferry Road and Kimberly Road, was approved at a public hearing Thursday by the Shasta County Planning Commission.

The 3A Ranch Horse Park and Event Center still requires approval for rezoning from the county’s Board of Supervisors to become a reality.

“After that, all it needs is money,” laughed project applicant and manager Bruce Alexander.

A board member of the Redding Rodeo Association for 20 years and a past-president of that organization, Alexander said the project would be a miniature version of the larger horse park that was proposed but never approved by the City of Redding in 2006.

As approved by the county, park amenities include a 140-foot by 280-foot covered arena that will be the only one of its kind in the area, said Alexander. Nearby arenas in Redding, Red Bluff, Palo Cedro and Cottonwood Creek are all uncovered, he said.

The park would also include a clubhouse serving food and alcohol — pending purchase of a permit — as well as horse stalls, cabins for overnight stays, RV spaces with full hook-ups, day care for children, a kennel for visitors’ pets and a veterinarian center.

Near the veterinarian center, the park would include recovery pools for horses needing physical therapy after surgery, Alexander said.

The horse park would require users to purchase a membership.

Alexander said the membership program would offer several tiers, from owning shares in the horse park to a general membership that Alexander referred to as similar to a membership at Costco.

The membership is not designed to keep anyone out; anybody can be a member, he explained. “Membership creates accountability,” Alexander added.

The horse park was designed to provide a home for local high school rodeo championships as well. For that, Alexander said a weekend pass would suffice.

Alexander may make a return to the county’s planning commission in the future to revise the project’s use permit since the county would not permit use of the horse park for weddings, parties and similar non-animal events.

Although he didn’t want a permit for large concerts at the horse park, Alexander was disappointed that the use permit will not include those amenities.

“I made it clear it was an event center, not just a horse park,” Alexander said.

Despite that, Alexander said he has received support from about 30 horse-related groups.

Several people spoke in favor of the horse park at the hearing, citing it as a benefit to area youth involved in equestrian sports.