A local family’s request to keep eight cows on their property has caused a rift in Simi’s Bridle Path neighborhood for more than a year, and residents are looking to the city to resolve the issue once and for all.

After hearing two hours of testimony from residents, the Simi Valley Planning Commission—which heard the issue for the second time last week—acknowledged the difficulty of its position in deciding an issue that has pitted neighbor against neighbor in the 630-home equestrian community.

“I am really sorry for what’s happened to this community and these neighbors on both sides,” Commissioner Jim Dantona said. “I’m sorry to see that it has to come to this . . . having to pick sides.”

At the Dec. 16 meeting, the 26 residents who spoke were almost equally split on the issue. The commission also received input from residents who didn’t wish to speak, with 24 in favor of the cows and 29 against.

The issue arose last year after a citizen made a complaint in the fall of 2008 against Bridle Path residents Randy and Margaret Miller regarding their cows, which they started keeping 17 years ago in spite of the rules of the homeowners association.

The family’s 8.5-acre flag lot property is located on Meander Drive in a limited farm animal overlay district, which allows residents to keep horses, goats, ducks and rabbits, but not cows, chickens or pigs.

Because their lot is more than 20,000 square feet, the Millers were allowed to request a conditional use permit (CUP) to keep the additional animals.

In November 2008, the Planning Commission approved the Millers request to keep eight cows. However, the City Council appealed and overturned the decision the following February.

The council said that in order for the city to approve a permit for the property, the Bridle Path codes, covenants and restrictions (CC&Rs) must first be amended to allow the requested animal keeping or the applicants must get approval from their HOA.

The Millers received approval from the HOA board of directors and refiled for a CUP to keep their cows, which they raise for 4-H projects and enjoy as pets.

However, residents argued that the approval ignored the results of an April survey of HOA members that found they were against amending the CC&Rs.

In the end, the commission voted 3-1 to allow the eight cows to stay on a single-family residential lot.

Commissioner Mary Bibb cast the dissenting vote, citing concerns over the cleanup of manure and the fact that the family had disregarded the rules of the city and the HOA for nearly two decades.Commissioner Keith Mashburn recused himself from the hearing citing a possible conflict of interest.

Those residents in favor of letting the cows stay described the Millers as responsible home and animal owners who keep their property “immaculate.” They said the site is appropriate for keeping the cows, which can’t be seen from the street.

Some suggested that personal vendettas were the cause of the current controversy and said that the debate has badly strained relationships in the equestrian community.

“We’ve got neighbors now peering over people’s walls, literally jumping up on the walls and looking into other people’s backyards to see what they have and to see what they can turn people in for,” said Darren Miller, son of Randy and Margaret

But those opposed, residents like Leslie Bergquist, simply said rules are meant to be followed.

“This is not about a small group of vindictive homeowners out to get the Millers,” said Bergquist, an 11-year Bridle Path resident. “Many of us don’t even know them, myself included. I think we ought to put blame where blame is due. On their own admission, they chose to break the law and our CC&Rs by raising cows on their property for the past 17 years. The fact that they were not caught until now doesn’t make it right.”

Senior Assistant City Attorney Marjorie Baxter advised the commission not to base its decision on the CC&Rs, which the city doesn’t regulate. She said the decision should be based on the city’s municipal code.

The commission expressed some concern after 28-year Bridle Path resident Jim Pantaleo presented a map that highlighted other large lots in the area that could also be suitable for cows. The former HOA president said approval of the cows would create a “slippery slope,” a precedent for other large lot owners to apply for cows or pigs, a contradiction of the original intent of Bridle Path.

Commissioner Tim Shannon said the map gave him pause but he still believes the Millers’ property is special because it abuts open space.

The first vote by the commission failed at 2-2. Dantona, worried that allowing eight cows might be too many since it is a special use, voted against approval. But he eventually changed his mind, agreeing with the other commissioners that “if four is good, why are eight not good?”

Even with the commission’s approval, the bovine brouhaha isn’t over quite yet. The City Council will have the final say on the matter and a public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 25.