Speaking Up for a Public Park Might Come with Consequences

On July 30, 2024, something happened that I never expected would be part of my life as a long-time horse owner in Bonita.

That morning, a county Code Enforcement officer arrived at my home. There had been a complaint alleging that I was operating some kind of boarding facility .. that I had “too many horses” on my property. The implication was clear: someone wanted the county to believe I was violating the law.

The accusation was completely false.

Every horse on my property belongs to me. I do not board horses. I have never boarded horses. I am in full compliance with county regulations .. the same regulations I have followed for years without incident.

The inspection confirmed exactly that. There were no violations. No citations. No warnings.

Nothing to correct. The complaint collapsed under even the most basic review.

But the damage was already done.

What struck me most was not just the inconvenience or the stress of having enforcement show up at my home .. it was the intent behind it. This was not about animal welfare. It was not about safety. It was about intimidation.

At the time, I was publicly speaking out about access to the Rohr Park horse arena .. a public facility that had been locked to the broader community. I was asking questions, attending meetings, and asserting the rights of local horse owners to use a public park. Shortly after that advocacy began, Code Enforcement showed up at my door.

That timing did not feel like a coincidence.

Using government enforcement as a pressure tactic crosses a line. When civic disagreement turns into attempts to trigger inspections, citations, or fear inside someone’s home, it stops being about policy and starts becoming personal.

July 30, 2024 was the first moment I realized that speaking up for a public park might come with consequences far beyond a heated meeting or a disagreement over rules. It showed me how easily systems meant to protect the public can be misused to silence it.

And yet, despite that experience, I continued to speak. Because public parks belong to the public .. and intimidation should never decide who gets to be heard.

By Darrell Jett | December 22, 2025

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