Council Denies Fuhrman Business Exemption for Ranch

Local ranch owner Tom Fuhrman, shown here in 2011, was denied a business license exemption in a public hearing Wednesday. Menifee 24/7 photos by Doug Spoon

In the latest of many actions pitting Menifee resident Tom Fuhrman against the City of Menifee, the City Council Wednesday voted 4-0 to deny Fuhrman a business license exemption for activities conducted on his ranch.

Fuhrman, a former city council member, appeared with his attorney in a public hearing to appeal an earlier decision by the City Community Development Department that he was not eligible for the exemption. In the staff report presented Wednesday night, interim Planning Director Bob Brady said that Fuhrman's horse ranch does not qualify for the exemption provided for agricultural use of a property as defined in the city code.

According to Section 5.010.040(A)(3) of the Menifee Municipal Code, the "Agriculture" exemption is described, in part, as follows:

Agricultural activities consisting of the growing of crops, raising of livestock; dairying, including auxiliary and ancillary uses incidental to the operation of a farm or ranch, consisting of the purchase and storage of substances, materials, supplies, animal feeds and produce and the marketing of farm products.

The dispute concerns the phrase "raising of livestock". Fuhrman and his attorney claim this takes place on his Wooden Nickel Ranch, a 25-acre ranch on Holland Road west of Murrieta Road in the rural west part of Menifee, and that this satisfies the exemption as "agricultural use". City staff and city council members believe otherwise.

The main point of contention seems to be the fact that among the 18 horses Fuhrman says are presently stabled on his ranch are some that are owned by others who pay him for boarding services. This, mayor Scott Mann argued, makes it a commercial operation subject to a business license and purchase of a conditional use permit.

"If you bring your horse into one of his stalls and pay for him boarding, explain to me how that is not a commercial operation?" Mann asked Fuhrman's attorney, Ben-Thomas Hamilton.

"We all know it's a commercial operation," Hamilton responded. "This part of the code assumes that. But it also says that this type of operation is for agricultural use and thus exempt."

In response to a question from council members, Brady said the city's position is that a commercial stable requires a CUP, and Fuhrman doesn't have one. City attorney Jeffrey Melching said that denial of the exemption would not keep Fuhrman from applying for a CUP in the future.

According to the city's website, fees for a conditional use permit range from $2,345 to $10,000 for the initial deposit, depending on the scope of the project, plus the possibility of additional fees by city staff or county agencies.

Fuhrman and his attorney argued unsuccessfully that the history of the property as a horse ranch establishes it as property with agricultural use. Documents show the ranch was established in 1968 and purchased in 1993 by Fuhrman as a horse ranch.

"It's been a horse ranch for 50 years," Fuhrman told Menifee 2/7 after the meeting. "Why all of a sudden do I have to get a CUP? I should be grandfathered in from the previous owners who had it under the county. It was in business as a horse ranch long before there was a city ordinance."

Taking the podium in his defense, Fuhrman said he had a list of 47 horse boarding businesses in Menifee. He said he called eight and none have a CUP to board horses. He requested city officials to "do their due diligence" and investigate that claim.

Matters involving Fuhrman and the City of Menifee are especially challenging because of Fuhrman's previous relationship with city officials. According to Brady, numerous code violations have been cited on the Wooden Nickel Ranch, including lack of permits for other parts of his property. In the past, Fuhrman has rented out an outside pavilion (left) for weddings and other events and has earned income off Civil War re-enactments.

In 2010, Fuhrman was elected to the City Council, promoted by some as a champion for rural land owners. This merely led to more contention, however, as his battles with the city over code violations continued. In March 2014, Fuhrman stepped from behind the dais to the podium to defend himself in appealing what he said were almost $9,000 in fees he paid related to a CUP application that was never completed because of reported code violations city officials said were not addressed.

In 2014, Fuhrman lost his District 2 council seat to Matt Liesemeyer.

Fuhrman's attorney began his testimony in the public hearing by notifying council members that his client was withdrawing several aspects of the appeal, which included issues over permits for weddings and other events previously held on the ranch. The only issue discussed was the debate over the interpretation of agricultural use.

Fuhrman indicated after the meeting that those other issues would be brought up again later.

"Did you want to be here five hours"? Fuhrman said when asked why those issues were dropped from the appeal. "It would be like fighting 25 traffic tickets at once. We will handle this one step at a time."

Fuhrman's appeal also asked that an ad hoc panel of two be appointed to hear his case because he claimed bias on the part of some city officials. That request was quickly dismissed.

"This decision is not about personal feelings," Mann said. "It's solely about the use of the Wooden Nickel Ranch."

"I have no bias against Tom," council member Greg August said. "It's a simple question: Whether he should be exempt from a business license."