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Politics & Government

Secratariat Relative Retiring to Mentor

Mentor Board of Zoning Appeals approves variance that allows for woman to have horse to her property

Woodland Place residents will soon get a different kind of neighbor --- a horse that is related to the legendary thoroughbred Secretariat.

Mentor’s Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) approved a variance Tuesday that allows Barbara Parr to move her 27-year-old horse on her 2.48- acre home at  8892 Woodland Place.

City code requires a minimum of 2.5 acres for any resident to keep a horse on their property. Mentor Planning Administrator Ric Spence said a request from a homeowner for this type of variance is uncommon. Nevertheless, the city administration did not oppose the variance.

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According to Parr, the horse is the great-great grandson of Bold Ruler, an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse that was the father of Secretariat, a thoroughbred that in 1973 made history by becoming the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years.

“I would like to move my horse to my home,” Parr told the BZA at its monthly meeting at Mentor City Hall. “It’s my childhood home and I always wanted a horse there. Now my horse is 27 and I’ve had him for 18 years.”

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The animal is a retired Metroparks Rangers horse that has done countless patrols and parades, according to Parr. The horse is now staying at a friend’s property.

Parr said she plans to build a small barn for the horse and install a fenced in area.

The BZA r to build a 1,935-square-foot detached garage and covered porch on their Canterbury Lane property.

City code requires detached garages not exceed 576 square feet. At its April meeting, the BZA tabled the variance request because of opposition from neighbors who argued the proposed detached garage would ruin the tranquility of the residential neighborhood.

BZA members said they rejected the variance because it was “substantial,” meaning the detached garage, as proposed, is more than three times the size over what is required by city code.

BZA member Sean Blake also said the detached garage would substantially alter the essential character of the Canterbury Lane neighborhood.

In other business, the BZA approved variance requests for a detached 864-square-foot detached garage at 9385 Headlands Road, a frontyard deck at 8079 Brentwood Road, and a freestanding sign for a business at 8677 Tyler Boulevard.

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