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Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes <br />December 11, 2024 <br />Page 6 <br />Mr. Shelby presented his report. Chair Anderson has had several incidents with horses specifically at <br />Woodland Trails Regional Park. Mr. Shelby shared that he did not find current ordinances in <br />surrounding areas that fit our situation so they would be starting from nothing. Commissioner Varty <br />said she has seen a person walk a horse down the County Rd 1 trail on a leash. Mr. Shelby said there <br />are not any current ordinances preventing this. <br />Chair Anderson said he does not see creating a horse ordinance as dissimilar from the trail closing <br />ordinance that was written in spring 2024. Chair Anderson said he did not know that we did not have <br />an ordinance keeping horses off the trail. Commissioner Stewart said that the cities of Coon Rapids, <br />Brooklyn Park and St. Cloud have horse ordinances. <br />Commissioner Goodwin asked what kind of a horse community Elk River has. Commissioner <br />Niziolek said there are many equestrians near the Girl Scout Camp in the northeast area of Elk River. <br />Chair Anderson shared that over the summer there were horses on the trails scaring people because <br />the trails are incompatible between horses and pedestrians. Chair Anderson asked if it is as simple as <br />drafting an ordinance that says horses are not allowed in Elk River City parks or on city trails. He <br />suggested there could be an exception for public events in the parks. Mr. Stremcha said that staff <br />could draft it for the next meeting, but they would need to know the size and scope of what the <br />commission wants and then at the January meeting it could be an action item. <br />Commissioner Loidolt said he is more afraid of dogs than horses and he is not in favor of banning <br />horses. He said that he liked the ordinance that Commissioner Stewart read from the St. Cloud <br />ordinance. Chair Anderson said that the horses are doing damage to the trails. Commissioner Loidolt <br />does not like that this is a blanket ordinance and there are not enough horses using the trails to <br />warrant that. Chair Anderson asked what the commission thinks. <br />Commissioner Goodwin said she is curious about what people will think if they cannot have their <br />horses anywhere. Commissioner Varty asked if there is a way to put a horse trail next to a regular trail. <br />Chair Anderson said no. Commissioner Niziolek said if there is excessive equestrian use on the <br />Woodland Trails green trails it makes them unusable. He said they made the rule about no horses to <br />stop that, and they should just designate the ordinance to be specific to the green trails to protect <br />them. Commissioner Loidolt asked about having trails for the horses. Commissioner Niziolek said an <br />ordinance for the green trails is something they should pursue. Commissioner Stewart asked if the <br />current master plan has any plan to accommodate trails for horses. Commissioner Varty said she <br />agrees with Commissioner Niziolek who said that keeping them off the green trails would be a good <br />idea. Councilmember Beyer asked if people are trailering horses in. Commissioner Varty said she <br />thinks there are people that live nearby that ride their horses to the park. <br />Commissioner Varty asked if they should let it sit and if they get a rush of complaints, they will <br />discuss this again. The other commissioners agreed. <br />8. Recreation Manager Update <br />Mr. Shelby presented his report. <br />9. Announcements <br />P�O�E8E1 8F <br />NATURE <br />