THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 28, 1996 TAG: 9609280508
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: 39 lines
A Kitty Hawk woman who runs a horseback riding stable won't be back in the saddle again.
On Thursday, Cheryl McMahon pleaded no contest to violating a town zoning ordinance that prohibits "commercialized horse activities and/or use of the town roads and right-of-way land and public beaches by nonresident horse persons."
If she does not rent horses to ride, District Court Judge Christopher Bean ruled, the suit Kitty Hawk officials filed against McMahon will be dismissed in a year. McMahon will not have a record. And she will not have to pay any fines.
"That's all we were looking for," Kitty Hawk planner Tim Owens said Friday. "We were just hoping to stop the horseback riding rentals. That operation is not a permitted use in the village commercial district she lives in."
This summer, McMahon was keeping 12 mares, one pony and one yearling stallion on her 3 1/2-acre property on Poor Ridge Road. She leased the animals for riding and taught lessons at the stables near her home. She and her Elizabeth City attorney, John Morrison, were unavailable for comment Friday.
In July, at least 300 Kitty Hawk residents signed a petition asking McMahon to cease illegal commercialized horseback riding activities. Residents also denounced McMahon's operation during a July 2 council meeting, saying that her horses were mistreated and living in unsafe, unsanitary conditions. Dare County Animal Control officers documented 21 cases of neglect at McMahon's facility during a two-year period.
But McMahon maintained that her horses were well cared for. ILLUSTRATION: File photo\The Virginian-Pilot
At least 300 Kitty Hawk residents in July signed a petition asking
Cheryl McMahon, shown here, to end her horseback riding rentals. by CNB