Much has been written about the proposed commercial horse stables and indoor riding ring at 401 Sandy Valley Rd., but very little detail about the physical structures, the impact of the 25 horses upon the land, or the immediate and long-term impact on the wetlands and the neighboring residents is commonly known.
The Conservation Commission determined the 2.7 acres of the 12.7-acre parcel are to be developed. On that 2.7 acres the applicants want to construct a 16,800 square-foot indoor riding ring (an NHL hockey rink 17,000 square feet; the strip mall on High Street which contains the Post Office is about 15,145 square feet) and a 10,995 square-foot barn for a total footprint of 27,795 square feet (more than 1/2 acre of building).
Hay storage and a property manager’s apartment are on the second floor. All totaled, that’s 38,790 square feet, over half the size of Roche Bros.
One horse produces 9 to 10 tons of manure a year, or 50 pounds of manure a day. The applicants are proposing 1.1 acres of paddocks to support 25 horses, meaning large amounts of manure accumulating in a highly concentrated area located in very close proximity to wetlands, so that the waste material and effluent from the manure will drain directly into those wetlands. Did anyone watch the recent PBS documentary “Poison Waters?”
Westwood’s Animal Regulations allow one horse on 40,000 square feet or less but are silent on any specific number of horses on more than 40,000 square feet. The town must apply common sense in determining what is an appropriate scale and density for this project. It has failed to do so.
