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Applicant seeks conditional use permit for horse‑boarding and indoor arena near Babler State Park
Summary
Fields at Clouds End LLC requested a conditional use permit for horse boarding and a training facility, including an indoor riding arena, on two lots on Babler Park Drive; the commission heard testimony from the petitioner and neighbors and closed the public hearing without final action.
On Sept. 2 the Planning and Zoning Commission took public testimony on PZ9‑25, a conditional use permit application from Fields at Clouds End LLC to authorize horse boarding and training on two lots (about 18 acres combined) at 840 and 850 Babler Park Drive, southeast of Babler State Park. Joe Newberry of the Department of Planning presented maps and photographs showing the two‑lot configuration and existing paddocks; the filing lists the proposed use as “horse boarding and training facility, including a riding stable and an indoor riding arena.” The parcels are in Ward 3.
The petitioner’s representative, identified in the record as Miss Sheerholtz, told the commission the property already had a Saint Louis County CUP “that’s over 40 years old” and that the applicant intends to update the facility to Wildwood standards, improve drive surfaces and landscaping, and add an indoor arena. She said the operation will be primarily private and described it as low traffic from a client perspective: “It is the plan for this barn mostly I mean, they are very high end horses that will be there. They travel at least 6 months a year. So, they're only there 6 months except for some young ones that stay back for training.”
Sheerholtz also described operational measures the applicant intends to include in the site development plan stage: a manure removal program (the petitioner said the Brooks operation allocates roughly $50,000 per year for manure removal), enclosed dumpster/block pad for waste storage, an insect‑management program, and a staffing level of about 8–10 employees to ensure maintenance and care. The applicant said the barns will be served by a private well and septic and that the team is “looking into some sort of fire system.” The planned indoor arena will have glass roll‑up doors so it can be open in good weather and enclosed in cold weather; Sheerholtz noted the glass doors are an expensive feature.
Two neighbors spoke in support. Nick Wilhelm, who identified his address as 850 Babler Park Drive, said his family has moved to Wildwood to be part of the horse community and said his wife is a high‑level trainer; he told commissioners, “My wife has the talent and the drive and the resources to reach Olympic aspirations.” Another neighbor observed operations and said he had not experienced manure odor at his property.
The department introduced the city’s charter, the master plan, and the zoning ordinance (chapter 415) and entered the department file and testimony into the record for the conditional use permit proceeding. Commissioners closed the public hearing by motion; no decision on the CUP was made at the Sept. 2 meeting. The CUP and any associated site development plan will require detailed review of manure management, access and parking, stormwater, building elevations and any conditions the commission sets if it forwards a recommendation to the city council.
