Steege v. Board of Appeals

This is an appeal from a ruling of the Land Court that the operation of a boarding stable for horses and a riding academy is an agricultural use protected by G. L. c. 40A, § 3.3 The facts are not in dispute.

Mitchell and Katherine Steege are the owners of property in Stow which contains in excess of five acres and is located in a residential zone. For many years prior to August, 1984, when the Steeges first acquired the land, the locus was part of a twenty-five acre farm which had been used as a 'home for ill and retired horses. From the time they acquired the property, the Steeges have used…