Is The Dog Park in the Dog House?

We’ve discussed the issue of the dog park on these pages several times including the need for a dog park and the various options available.

There is agreement among almost everyone that the City needs some type of off-leash facility for the nearly 50% of the households that have one or more dogs. And there is agreement that ideally, a 3 to 5 acre dog park would be a nice addition to the City, but finding the land and coming up with the $2 million dollars it will cost to create the dog park has led many people to endorse the idea of dog “zones” within a few of our existing parks. A dog zone can be created by taking an un-used portion of an existing park, putting up some fences and a gate, and voila, we have an area where owners can take their small or large dogs for exercise and socialization. Depending on their size, dog zones could be built for between $50,000 and $100,000, meaning we could have a small and a large dog zone in several different parts of the city and we could get it done in a few months at a minimal cost compared to a dog park.

Some Commissioners don’t want to settle for dog zones and would rather hold out for a full scale dog park, and some Commissioners have expressed the opinion that we should have both. Build one or two zones now and, sometime in the future, build the larger dog park.

With this in mind, last month the Parks and Recreation Commissioners were tasked with visiting nearly a dozen parks in the City to determine which ones they thought were best suited for putting a dog zone. Personally I visited them all and found 5 that were very well suited to the goal.

Curiously enough, the park that got the highest rating was a park that wasn’t listed on the Commissioner’s list – Vintage Park. Vintage Park is a 4.8 acre park located to the South of El Toro Road where Normandale ends. It has various levels and backs up to a large open area that borders on Mission Viejo.

The #2 winner was Rancho Serrano Park. It’s a 5.1 acre site located close to Bake Pkwy and Trabuco Rd. It backs up to some industrial areas that run along Bake Pkwy.

The #3 highest vote getter was Regency Park. It’s 5 acres located where Regency hits Osterman, and it is already scheduled for some modifications in the near future.

Last night at the City Council meeting, the topic came up of transforming Whispering Hills into a community garden. Click here for my article on that subject. Whispering Hills has also been discussed as a possible option for a dog park, and our Mayor has eyes on the area for a soccer arena. But listening to the City Council last night, it’s clear that there isn’t a heck of a lot of additional money lying around. We’re about to spend more than $50 million dollars in the next year on the Sports Park and on much needed improvements to our traffic management system. As well, the Village Pond Park has literally been a disaster area, and funds will need to be put aside to improve that area. And in all this planning, we still don’t have any money set aside for a Senior Center. A very strong case will have to be made for any additional spending. As big an advocate as I am for animals in general, and a dog park in particular, the realities of the situation are that if we are going to have anything, it will have to be a dog zone or two.

We should go ahead with the dog zone concept, and put the dog park on hold. Meantime, there are some positive things we can do –

·  All new building projects that have more than 200 homes/units should be required to have an off-leash facility as one of their amenities.

·  A nonprofit dog park organization should be established and one of their first concerns should be finding commercial sponsors who would be willing to underwrite the costs of a future dog park.

If you’re interested in the dog park/zone concept, you can show up at the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting Thursday night at 7 pm.