Pinetop commission denies conditional use permit for horse stable at 3250 West Coyote Drive

The Pinetop Lakes Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to deny a conditional use permit to allow up to two horses at 3250 West Coyote Drive, a commercial parcel where the operator, Zoe’s Adventures, had already begun keeping animals.

Staff told the commission the location is on a major arterial with a history of animals being struck by vehicles and said the U.S. Forest Service limits commercial stables and has issued all permits in the area. “We are recommending denial of this conditional use permit,” the interim town manager told the commission, citing public-safety concerns and prior noncompliance by the operator.

The denial follows more than an hour of discussion in which the property operator, who identified himself as Scott of Zoe’s Adventures, said he had invested about $60,000 to improve the vacant site and described programs he runs for children and members of vulnerable…