Planning commission asks applicant to re-notice Hackamore Road stable after neighbors and applicant agree to changes

Rolling Hills Estates Planning Commission continued consideration of zoning case 25-033 for the property at 1 Hackamore Road on Aug. 19, 2025, after the applicant reduced the proposed stable’s size and height and neighbors and the applicant agreed to further design changes that will require re-noticing.

The item was continued to allow the applicant to revise plans to address view-obstruction concerns raised in written public comments and during a site visit. Commissioners voted to exercise their discretion not to require additional flagging or staking of the site and directed staff to re-notice the application for the next meeting.

Staff told the commission the property is in the RAS-1 zone and that the net lot area is about 1.8 acres (approximately 40,070 square feet). The project as originally proposed called for a stable about 2,093 square feet and 20 feet in height; the applicants reduced the stable to about 1,859 square feet and to a maximum height of 19 feet, and lowered the building pad by 24 inches. Staff said the property’s small, sloped pad and the proposed improvements require a conditional use permit for any stable over 200 square feet and variances because the disturbance exceeds the 40 percent threshold for the lot.

Neighbors submitted written comments and presented at the meeting. Bert Balch of 6 Hackamore provided an aerial photo and a silhouette he said showed roughly a 75 percent obstruction of his view; he asked the commission to allow the building to move farther back so it would “move it kind of out of our view.” Architect Benjamin Cawthon said the owners were willing to compromise, to push the stable about 15 feet back and reduce pad height by about 2 feet, and that neighbors to the south had indicated that the change would resolve their privacy concerns. Resident David Brown of 4 Hackamore told commissioners the neighbors had “all got together and came up with a solution that works for all of us.”

At the morning field-trip review, commissioners, staff and neighbors visited 6 Hackamore and other vantage points to evaluate silhouetting of the proposed stable. Staff said one reason the project was re-noticed previously was a code interpretation: accessory structures in this situation are subject to a 50-foot setback in some circumstances, which prompted a new notice and an additional variance request for the stable to encroach into a front-yard setback.

Commissioners discussed grading, access and potential landscaping conditions to protect privacy for the property at 53 Eastfield Drive; staff said the applicant would provide a landscape buffer between the rear of the stable and 53 Eastfield. Commissioners noted any additional grading to move the pad farther down the slope would likely be modest (the applicant estimated on the record an additional roughly 100–200 cubic yards) but would need to be shown on revised plans.

By motion, the commission exercised its discretion not to require additional staking or flagging for the revised plans; the motion passed by voice vote. Commissioners then voted to receive and file the matter and directed staff to re-notice the project for the next meeting; staff and the applicant will return with revised plans and any additional variance requests required by the new configuration. The commission’s decision to re-notice means a new public-notice cycle will occur and the item will come back as a new hearing rather than be continued under the current file number.

The commission did not take a final substantive vote on the conditional use permit or variances at the Aug. 19 hearing; they left open the possibility of approval on a future agenda after the applicant files revised plans and the city completes any additional noticing required.