DETROIT, MI

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A Detroit group hopes to get approval to open a horse stable in the automotive capitol of the U.S., potentially on Belle Isle.

There's a problem.

Detroit zoning rules forbid "farm animals" within the city limits, said City Planner Kimberly Haygood.

But there is a question of whether the city code considers horses farm animals. There may be a loophole. At least that's what members of the

, who have asked City Council to stable their horses somewhere in the city, are hoping for.

The city Planning Commission Friday will scour the city's zoning laws to see if there is a way the organization, which operates in Detroit but stables its approximately 12 horses in Plymouth, might be able to relocate.

Haygood said the zoning ordinance is silent on the status of horses, whether they are deemed farm animals, and said the Department of Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Division would have to make a determination if there is an alternative classification for horses that could make them permissible in some situations.

Detroit has spent greater than a century leading the world in automobile manufacturing, so it seems somewhat unexpected that a group named the Motor City Horseman want to bring the saddled transportation back to the urban landscape.

But Anthony Crummie, 32, and Durell Montgomery, 28, both of Detroit, chief executive officers with the organization, feel horses could benefit area youth.

Detroit natives, Crummie and Montgomery said they had the unique opportunity to spend the summers of their youth in the South learning about horses and riding, which taught them about responsibility, morals and work ethic, something that kids in Detroit could benefit from, Crummie said.

"Once we started riding we just realized it needed to be a greater cause," Crummie said. "So what we started patrolling the streets of Detroit where the kids go back and forth to school... on horseback.

"We grab a bunch of kids and we say, 'Hey, we want to teach you about horses,' something that you wouldn't normally see everyday... and it gives people in the city a sense of hope that things are getting better.

The Motor City Horseman, a 35-member organization, is an offshoot group affiliated with the Buffalo Soldiers, named for the Civil War-era all-black cavalry regiment created in 1866.

The group explored leasing a stable at River Rouge Park, which has been exempted from city zoning rules due to its park status, but learned another organization has already entered into a lease there.

They have also considered various parks and the former stables once used by the Detroit Police Department on Bethune, which although they are historic are in poor condition, Councilman James Tate said.

It's going to the "Planning Commission to see if there is any other location in the city that they might be able to utilize that won't violate zoning," he said.

Haywood said another park within the city may be an option.

"I hate to say no to this group that does such a good job with out young people, teaching them to ride," Councilwoman JoAnn Watson said when the issue came up at a committee meeting Thursday.

In agreement, Councilman Kwame Kenyatta said the issued needs to be "further explored" and believes the city should "particularly take a look at Belle Isle."

Kenyatta is asking the legal department to review the terms of the consent agreement with the state, which leases Belle Isle and grants a supervisory role to the state, to determine if the city

"When we look at something like the giveaway, and weigh in, I don't want to just weigh in," he said during a Tuesday's City Council meeting. "I don't want to have a discussion about it, I want to control it."

The committee plans to revisit the stable issue upon completion of zoning analysis in two weeks.