Neighbors will fight restrictions
Officials don’t want the public’s newest park going to the dogs so they have put a muzzle on those who live outside of the city.
It was decided last week that only canines who live in Santa Monica can use the new multimillion Airport Park, which will open in 2006.
The Santa Monica City Council’s decision had plenty of dog owners from nearby cities barking over being excluded from the exclusive off-leash area, which will be a popular part of the 8.3-acre park.
Because dogs aren’t allowed on LA beaches and are only permitted in parks on a leash, the exclusion doesn’t leave dog owners with many options on where they can take their pets.
Non-residents who live in the neighborhoods surrounding the Santa Monica Airport, where the park will be built, pleaded with council members to reconsider the restriction. They argued they will be impacted by increased traffic and other effects of the park, so they should be entitled to enjoy the off-leash area.
“We are Santa Monica,” said Tom Ponton, chairman of the Mar Vista Community Council, a neighborhood group. “We don’t have walls and fences between Santa Monica and LA in this area. Many of us that live in Mar Vista work in Santa Monica. Almost all of us shop in Santa Monica... and vice versa.
“There’s really no border there,” he added. “This just feels like Santa Monica is trying to create a border.”
But council members said there is too high a demand already on leash-free space for dogs in Santa Monica.
“It’s very regrettable that it’s an either-or situation but there doesn’t seem to be any other solution,” Mayor Richard Bloom said. “These issues are really thorny... but the bottom line is our staff is very protective of the local community’s right to have good access to the parks that we have.”
The Airport Park, which is expected to cost nearly $7 million, will be built next to the Santa Monica Airport in the southeast corner of the city. In addition to the one-acre dog area, the park includes two soccer fields, a picnic area, a children’s playground, a paved path, restrooms and 116 parking spaces. All together, the park will increase the amount of open space in the city by 7 percent.
Karen Ginsburg, assistant director of City Hall’s community and cultural services, said a number of inquires from out-of-towners wanting to use the park have come into her department. But Ginsburg said all of those dog owners, some of who live just across the street from the park, will have to look elsewhere.
“We have a lot of dogs to manage,” she said of the more than 5,000 registered dogs in Santa Monica. “And with this dog park we’ll have just three small dog parks.”
“We have a lot of dogs to manage.” — — KAREN GINSBURG Assistant director, Community and cultural services
Animal control officers are charged with enforcing the law and will issue citations to out-of-towners who bring their dogs for a free roam in Santa Monica. The officers already patrol for illegal outsiders at off-leash areas in Joslyn and Pacific Street parks.
While officials are sticking to their plans for now, Ponton said he doesn’t expect the restriction to last.
“There shouldn’t be borders,” he said, adding that Mar Vista officials plan to pressure City Hall to relax the law. “I really think that this is not something they can hold for too long. It’s something that’s going to be too outrageous to the people of Mar Vista, especially with the location of this park.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 21, 2003. Read the original PDF.