Planning commission approves variance so homeowner can keep three horses and two goats on 2-acre parcel

The Dorchester County Planning Commission voted to approve a variance that will allow a homeowner at 6912 Hubbard Road to keep three horses and two goats on a parcel the applicant described as having two usable acres.

The applicant, identified in the record as Rebecca Clark, told the commission she recently purchased the property and was asking for “special permission for a variance so that I can bring my 3 horses … and 2 goats onto the property.” Clark said the three horses include a Percheron, an Appaloosa and a small miniature horse with medical needs. She told the commission the animals would be kept in an existing outbuilding and that she and her husband planned to erect a fence and provide adequate room for the animals.

County staff explained that the zoning code sets a minimum of three acres for the relevant noncommercial animal use and that Clark’s parcel provides two usable acres, prompting the request for roughly a one-acre variance. Staff reported they measured required setbacks — including a 200-foot structure setback referenced on the aerial and a 50-foot setback for accessory structures — and said the proposed location for animal housing sits well within those setbacks; staff also noted the proposed barn/run-in would be more than 280 feet from a neighboring structure shown on the record.

A commission member noted that other properties in the Agricultural Conservation (AC) district have animals on parcels of fewer than three acres and asked whether neighbors had been contacted; Clark said she had spoken with Jeff King, who owns land around the property and who recommended she apply for the variance. The transcript record shows a motion for a favorable recommendation and a second; the chair called the vote and members vocalized “Aye,” approving the variance.

The commission’s approval was recorded without a roll-call vote listing individual member votes in the transcript. The record does not include conditions beyond those staff described (setback compliance and the applicant’s mitigation measures). The transcript does not show any appeals or legal challenges filed during the meeting.

The variance allows the property owner to keep the named animals on the parcel despite the three-acre minimum in the zoning table of permitted uses. The planning commission’s action is a recommendation to the Board of Appeals when required by the county’s process for this type of variance; the record indicates the commission voted in favor at the meeting.

Details that were stated in the meeting but were not fully resolved on the record include whether Jeff King filed a written letter of support (Clark said she spoke with him) and whether the commission attached any written conditions beyond the staff recommendations.