Users ask Utah County to amend operations at North County Equestrian Park; staff outlines legal and budget limits

Utah County commissioners held a work session to consider amending the operations disclosure statement, operating plan and site plan for the North County Equestrian Park. Staff described the property’s history, permitting background and current maintenance practice, and local equestrian users urged changes to make the facility safer and more usable.

Glenn Tanner, associate public works director, told the commission the county acquired portions of the property in 1946 and 1962; a cooperative agreement with Highland, Lehi and American Fork led to construction of park improvements in 1999–2000. Tanner said the facility’s equestrian operating committee appears in records around 2003 but largely went quiet after the 2008 downturn, and staff issued an RFP in late 2020 seeking concept proposals.

Bryce Armstrong of Community Development framed the land‑use context: the Utah County Land Use Ordinance treats the site as a public park with a permitted ‘public park facility’ use that requires a site plan and an operations plan; earlier equestrian components were approved through a conditional‑use process (circa 2001) with later amendments to site plans (2004) and ordinance language (2008) that changed review procedures.

Richard Nelson, Public Works, described current operations: the park opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. Monday–Saturday (closed Sundays and holidays); staff open and close gates, maintain arena footing as time and equipment allow, clean restrooms and handle reservations and basic landscape care. He said four small lights on the outdoor arena exist solely for maintenance and cleanup; the outdoor arena is not approved for lighted night events.

Members of the equestrian community told the commission the park needs more frequent arena work, clearer signs and on‑site liability waivers, and greater enforcement against off‑leash dogs and unauthorized ATV use. “You can’t mix dogs and horses with dogs off leash. It’s just not safe,” said Jemima Street, who described incidents of horses spooking and riders being thrown. Mary Lee Tanner said users have raised roughly $10,000 and are willing to donate equipment and volunteer time to improve footing and operations.

Speakers asked the county to allow paid events and lessons under clarified rules so the facility can be rented; staff said an old operations plan language restricting concessions is likely the source of the mistaken belief that paid events are prohibited, and Armstrong said the ordinance itself does not ban user fees or concessions. Nelson cautioned that city‑run venues such as Spanish Fork operate with substantially larger budgets and multiple full‑time staff and that any move to a similar model would carry greater costs.

Staff identified near‑term changes under consideration: installing new park rule signs that are in county possession but not yet installed, making waivers and reservation information more accessible, and treating fees as part of the county fee schedule rather than embedding them in a formal operations plan so they can be updated more easily.

No formal action or vote was taken; commissioners thanked commenters and directed staff to review the community’s written list of requested changes and return with options for amending the operations plan and site plan.

Next step: staff will return with draft revisions and implementation options for commission consideration.