Encinitas staff recommend approval for Olivenhain equestrian site; neighbors raise fire, drainage and access concerns

City planning staff recommended approval Feb. 11 of a multi‑structure equestrian project at 3465 Boomen Road in the Olivenhain community, but neighbors at the zoning administrative hearing urged the city to resolve wildfire evacuation, drainage and access questions before the city issues a final notice of decision.

Staff described the project as a remodel with a 583‑square‑foot addition to an existing single‑family residence on a 4.98‑acre lot, plus a detached 1,184‑square‑foot accessory dwelling unit, a 4,946‑square‑foot 10‑stall horse barn with a 669‑square‑foot office, a 4,062‑square‑foot horse walker, and a combined detached garage and hay barn (approximately 1,169 and 908 square feet, respectively). The project also proposes an increase in the number of horses on the parcel from the nine allowed by right under the municipal code to 10, which required a…