The Pierce County Land Management Committee greenlighted several projects Wednesday, June 16, including a conditional use permit for an outdoor recreation facility in the town of Diamond Bluff.

Phillip and Cynthia Symes and Cody and Anne Marie Sjoquist plan to open a commercial riding stable that will host indoor and outdoor events at W8913 340th Ave. The families own two adjacent 40-acre parcels, one in the town of Diamond Bluff, the other in Trenton, but all activities and building will take place on the Diamond Bluff parcel. The area is primarily agricultural and undeveloped, with few houses and a nursery nearby. The facility will be accessed from 340th Avenue, which is in Trenton. No parking will be allowed on the road.

Limited camping will be provided for event participants only, with quiet times beginning at 10:30 p.m. The plan is to eventually build gravel sites with hook-ups. Bedding and feed will also be sold to customers onsite, such as hemp stem (bedding), horse feed, and chicken, dog and cat food.

The owners plan to build a duplex, for which the LM Committee approved a conditional use permit, and live onsite. One property owner plans to be on the premises at all times.

The facility

The boarding facility will operate 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days per week for boarders. No tacking will be allowed after 9 p.m. Between pastured and horses boarded in stalls, no more than 50 horses will be boarded. They will be required to have immunizations.

The indoor arena will be 70-by-200 feet with no permanent indoor seating. Five indoor horse stalls and a wash down area will be located in the arena on a concrete pad. The outdoor arena will measure 150-by-220 feet with continuous fencing.

Other facility/property details include:

•Composting bunkers for manure

•Security lighting and electric fencing will be installed

•The outdoor arena will have lighting and a sound system for announcing

•Trails will stay on the property unless agreements are made with neighboring property owners

Events

Events such as barrel racing, steer roping, pole bending, goat tying and penning will be held at both the indoor and outdoor arenas. Each event will be limited to 150 riders, with preregistration required. Portable toilets will be brought in for events, although the plan is to build bathroom facilities in the future. EMS will be onsite for sanctioned events, and on-call for others.

Other approvals

The Land Management Committee fully supported and approved the following:

•Conditional use permit for a 150-by-60 square-foot pole barn/duplex at W8913 340th Ave., in the town of Diamond Bluff, for Phillip and Cynthia Symes and Cody and Anne Marie Sjoquist. Of note, the Wisconsin Historical Society catalogued a Native American burial site southwest of the proposed duplex.

•Conditional use permit for a 600 square-foot accessory residence at N8829 410th St., in the town of Gilman for Jason Vance and Kimberly McGee. This is located in a Primary Agriculture District.

•Conditional use permit for a 1,616 square-foot accessory residence at N8072 690th St., in the town of Martell for Richard and Sheila Eggen. This is located in a Primary Agriculture District.

•A height exemption for a replacement Wireless Communication Service Facility/radio tower off 530th Street in the town of Hartland for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation – Division of the State Patrol. The 280-foot tower will replace a 260-foot tower and radio support building built in the 1960s for the Army Corps of Engineers. The replacement radio tower will fill a large radio coverage gap throughout Pierce County, enhance radio communications with the State Patrol and Department of Natural Resources, and improve voice communication with public safety users.

Map courtesy of Land Management Committee