Country in the city

As a child, Jennifer Holmes used to ride horses with her family from Otis Orchards to Newman Lake. Colleen Nilson’s family in Greenacres until recently could take their horses along a hillside above Liberty Lake.

Those days are long gone as more houses and urban centers dot Spokane Valley’s landscape. Alongside this growth, many residents are keeping a tradition of having horses in the Valley, which for decades attracted homeowners seeking acreage for large animals.

“This is very much like the place I grew up on in Montana where we had cows and horses,” said Nilson, who with husband, Lee, moved to Greenacres 16 years ago and continuously kept large animals on nearly four acres. Their property, now in Spokane Valley, falls under a grandfathered nonconforming use allowing the few animals.

Their children Andrew, 16, and Ashley, 14, have helped with the family’s cows and two horses and participate in 4-H. Today, the family sees more traffic on Barker Road in front of the home but their large backyard pasture still has a tranquil, rural feel.

“I can ride them whenever I want,” Ashley said about their horses, Sultan and Savannah. “They are more at ease in the pasture compared to a stall.”

Holmes, 29, has lived in Otis Orchards her entire life.

“So I’ve seen all the changes,” said Holmes, who offers horse riding lessons and training. “It’s more difficult to just get on and go riding.”

Holmes, husband Robert, and their 7-year-old daughter have six horses in Otis Orchards on four and half acres within unincorporated Spokane County. Holmes grew up nearby on property north of Trent Avenue between Harvard and McKinzie Roads.

“We used to be able to get on horses from my parent’s house in Otis Orchards and we could ride through the hills and ride direct to Newman Lake,” she said. “Now, the whole hillside we used to ride on is all developed, so we can’t.”

However, avenues remain to enjoy horseback riding, she added.

“You can still enjoy riding, but you have to be more willing to travel. You have to trailer your horse to Liberty Lake or to Riverside (state parks), which is fine. I still get on my horse and ride along the roads, but you just have to watch the traffic. You have to trust your horse.”

Holmes said she and her clients appreciate having their children around horses. “I work with a lot of families who come here for riding lessons. I think it’s a great experience for children to have the responsibility (to) handle a 1,000-pound animal, learning to have the confidence.”

Nilson also likes what her children have learned by caring for horses. “It teaches them about safety, leadership, patience, responsibility.”

Despite area growth and increased traffic, Greenacres still feels “sort of like the country,” Nilson added. A past horseback riding spot was lost with the newly built Street of Dreams homes in the Legacy Ridge development, on the hill between Greenacres and Liberty Lake.

“You used to be able to ride up on that hill where they’re building all those new houses, but you can’t now,” Nilson said. “Trail riding is not something we’ve done a lot of because there are not a lot of spots around.”

Greenacres has many older homes on large lots with a sprinkling of more recently built homes. Newer, larger subdivisions to the south have added houses in recent years.

Under current city land-use regulations, a grandfathered nonconforming use of having horses on acreage can continue even after a property sale, if up to only three large animals per acre are continuously kept, said Marina Sukup, Spokane Valley community development director. If large animals are taken off such property for 12 months or longer, any nonconforming rights go away, she added.

“That has come up as an issue,” Sukup said. “Someone maybe advertises selling a property that they have a stable, but there have been no horses for a while. Some have bought thinking they can have horses, and they can’t.”

“People can sell and the new owners can have horses if there’s been continued use of horses on the property. The regulations are attached to the use, not the property.”

Spokane County has similar land-use regulations regarding the historical keeping of horses. Mark Holman, county assistant director of building and planning, said nonconforming rights allow up to three horses per acre if it’s an historical use and legal the first time of use.

Under county zoning, about three livestock per acre in rural zones or in five-acre zones are allowed. In urban zones, large animals are not allowed, he said.

“Generally, if the (nonconforming) use is abandoned or there is not use of large animals for a continuous one year, then the county would look at it as no longer a nonconforming right,” Holman said. “That is sometimes murky if someone intended to bring horses back but it took 18 months instead of 12.”

He said anyone can apply for determination of a nonconforming right if a question arises. Although the county doesn’t keep records of all nonconforming rights, they can be researched, he added.

Holmes, who participates in horse shows through Washington State Horsemen, still sees many homeowners with horses around Otis Orchards, but she has a friend now having trouble finding suitable horse property.

“People with horses, they’re still around,” she added. “People want to move out here and find property to have horses, but it’s getting harder to find a piece of property. Plus, those properties are getting more expensive.”