Howard County would be an ideal place for a proposed state horse park - if a suitable location can be found and other key details fall into place.
That's the conclusion of a task force appointed by the County Council to study the concept.
"We're persuaded this has a lot of potential and would be feasible and have a benefit to the county," Chairman Michael Erskine said Wednesday after the committee met in the George Howard building.
The panel, which will meet Feb. 27 to finalize recommendations, plans to advise that the county undertake more work on the idea. Composed mainly of people amenable to the idea of a horse park, the task force was charged with gathering information and advising the council.
The $114 million project is years off and several other counties - including Harford and Wicomico - are exploring bids. The complex is envisioned as a place to stage outdoor and indoor events including competitions, farm fairs, livestock shows and sales, festivals and concerts. The facility would be built and operated by the Maryland Stadium Authority.
The horse park was to have been built at the former Naval Academy dairy farm near Gambrills, but Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold opposed it.
At the meeting this week, the Howard committee reviewed an outline of its recommendations, which revealed the need for more information, Erskine said.
"The county executive couldn't write a proposal based on what we've done," he said. "There are too many questions."
The biggest obstacle to the project is a location. The state is insisting on at least 500 acres - a rare find in Howard County. The committee identified only two parcels that large: the University of Maryland Central Farm and Doughoregan Manor, the Carroll family estate.
But university officials have said they need all 900 acres and don't want to allow the farm's use as a horse park, while the Carroll family is unwilling to allow public access to its 892-acre estate.
Other possible but smaller sites mentioned include Benson Branch Park, the Belmont estate in Elkridge and undeveloped parkland across Frederick Road from the county fairgrounds in West Friendship. The idea in those cases would be to find smaller adjoining parcels of either state parkland or privately owned land that could be cobbled together to achieve the desired size.
Joy Levy, the county's agricultural preservation planner, said the West Friendship parkland might have the best access from Frederick Road opposite the county fairgrounds. Howard Feaga, a farmer and committee member, noted the site nearly touches other undeveloped land nearby with access off Route 32.
However, Clara Gouin, a county park planner, said the land, once intended for use as a golf course, has steep slopes and woods that make it a difficult fit. An antique farm machinery museum is being built there on a small portion of the land.
The final report won't make a specific recommendation but will discuss the advantages, which include tourism, land preservation and recreational opportunities. The report will note Howard's strategic location between Baltimore and Washington, and near BWI Thurgood Marshall International Airport, with major highways such as Interstate 95 and Interstate 70 running through it.
Rachelina Bonacci, Howard County's executive director of tourism, said a horse park would "showcase and celebrate our agribusinesses," a strong selling point regionally in tourism.
"Howard County is the green between two cities," she said, and a horse park would help preserve that natural landscape.
Several members said that even if the plan for the state complex does not come to fruition, a smaller county horse park would be an asset.
The panel is to present its final report to the council in March.larry.carson@baltsun.com