County zoning regulations close Danny's Farm, where autistic and other special needs children had a chance to encounter barnyard animals. While it continues in scaled down form at the Almansor Center in South Pasadena, it's the end of an era.
The larger animals -- the goats, the horse, the pig, the miniature donkeys -- are already gone. The bunnies are moving, and next week, the roosters will be gone, too. And that will be the end of Danny's Farm.
Danny's Farm -- Cathy and Jim Gott's rural retreat inside the city, where children with autism and other kids with special needs had a chance to interact with and learn to care for animals -- is moving out of its home at 3064 1/2 Ridgeview Dr. in Altadena, because it couldn't meet the zoning codes for the area. Cathy Gott said that they received a cease and desist letter last month, giving them 30 days to get rid of the animals. And without the animals, Danny's Farm loses its reason to be.
Cathy said that, following a neighbor's complaint, they received a call from the county zoning department that the petting farm was in violation of zoning codes. The Gotts rent space from Altadena Stables next door, which was grandfathered in as a non-conforming review (NCR) property for the horses, but that didn't cover the petting farm use that Danny's Farm required. Gott said that she met with "every department in the county" over the course of the year as well as Supervisor Michael Antonovich's office, but in the end, the farm couldn't get past the zoning codes.
"I feel better that I'm telling people," Cathy Gott said. "I think we explored every option we could."
Pictured: Danny Gott, Cathy Gott, and Altadena Sheriff Capt. Steven McLean at October's Pumpkin Festival.
The Gotts explored moving the farm to the lower Zorthian Ranch, but encountered significant opposition from the neighbors. Cathy said it would also require a getting a Conditional Use Permit (CUP), which would cost about $60,000, money they didn't have.
The Gotts will move Danny's Farm -- named for their son Danny Gott -- to the Almansor Center in South Pasadena, where it will be more of a bunny and guinea pig farm. "I am grateful to the Almansor Center that we won't have to let any employees go," she said. Danny's Farm largely employs disabled adults to care for the animals and maintain the facilities.
In the meantime, manager Lisa Houseman managed to find a home for each of the large animals, and the after-school programs for autistic children are continuing at the Almansor Center. Almansor is looking for a larger facility, and Cathy says that 'wherever they move, we'll move with them."
But its mission remains the same: "Our first mission is to give adults with disabilities a meaningful job," Cathy said. "Our second mission is pairing animals with kids. For now, this is what it has to be."
That is only one of the changes in the Gott family: Jim Gott, a former LA Dodger pitcher, was recently hired by the Angels as a minor league coach, and he will be leaving for Arizona in March for the season.
"Hopefully we'll be back to Altadena, we love it here," Cathy said.
Update: clarified the timeline of events.
