Local dog parks opened to all after controversy
AIRPORT PARK No longer will the off-leash dog park here be off limits to Mar Vista residents and their pooches.
The City Council on Tuesday voted to open up the park to all LA County dogs that are properly licensed and rabies-free. In exchange for the privilege, those who live outside of Santa Monica’s borders would pay an annual fee of $15.50 to help pay for maintenance of the city park.
Roughly $25,000 is needed each year to clean and maintain the dog area, according to city staff. Residents pay a licensing fee of $15 for spayed or neutered pets, and $50 for unaltered dogs.
“We do appreciate your consideration of Mar Vista residents and their dogs,” said Tom Ponton, founder and former chair of the Mar Vista Neighborhood council. “Many of us are Santa Monica employees or business owners and support your tax base in a variety of ways. We are all one big community, not two separate groups of people.”
Ponton said Mar Vista residents are actively working with their elected officials to find space in Los Angeles for more dog parks.
If usage patterns at Airport Park change and grow to a point where the annual fee does not support maintenance needs, the council could re-examine the policy and make changes.
Controversy clouded what was supposed to be a celebratory day in Santa Monica when Mar Vista residents held a protest in April at the grand opening of the Airport Park, the city’s first newly-constructed park to open in the last 24 years.
There were hand-made signs blasting city officials for excluding Los Angeles residents from the nearly 1-acre dog park, a move that was done to ensure that Santa Monicans and their 5,500 licensed dogs could use it without having to worry about overcrowding.
“If the goal is to make sure people pay attention to their dogs, there is no evidence showing that the number of dogs makes a difference,”
“I know some people with only one dog who don’t pay attention.” — Butler said. IF THE GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION TO THEIR DOGS, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE SHOWING THAT THE NUMBER OF DOGS MAKES A DIFFERENCE. I KNOW SOME PEOPLE WITH ONLY ONE DOG WHO DON’T PAY ATTENTION.” Sean Butler, Resident
Local law prohibits dogs who are not licensed in Santa Monica from using the city’s three dog parks and one dog run. The law was enacted in the ’90s, when City Hall began building off-leash dog areas at the request of residents.
City staff initially offered Mar Vista residents 15 permits for Airport Park as part of a pilot program, however that proposal was rejected.
Various media outlets jumped on the story following a second protest in May involving Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who joined with residents in calling on City Hall to lift the ban in light of the fact that Mar Vista residents not only work and play in Santa Monica, contributing to the city’s tax revenue, but also must deal with traffic and pollution coming from Santa Monica College’s Bundy Campus and the airport.
City staff said they wanted time to monitor usage at the park to see if there was a strong demand from residents. A survey found that there wasn’t, prompting staff to go before the council with the recommendation to open it up to everyone, something which was supported by the Recreation and Parks Commission.
Over the course of 15 weeks, a maximum of 24 dogs were seen at the park at one time and during most of the day there were far fewer dogs, city staff said. The most popular times for use are on weekday and weekend afternoons and evenings with weekend use being slightly higher overall.
Along with the recommendation, city staff also proposed operating hours for all dog parks in the city, as well as a limit on how many animals could be allowed in a dog park at one time. Staff said they have received complaints from park users about professional dog walkers who bring upwards of six dogs to the off-leash areas at one time. Some have said the dogwalkers fail to pick up after their animals and have difficulty controlling such a large group.
One resident, Sean Butler, said he was opposed to a limit on the number of dogs one could bring to a park at one time, saying that, in the past, he has owned as many as four dogs and would often take all of them to a dog park at the same time. Placing a limit at three, as staff recommended, would not be fair to some dog lovers with multiple pets.
The council decided to go with a limit of four dogs. It also approved the new hours of operation, which are 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays and 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekends. That’s for Joslyn Park, which is.83 acres, Pacific Street (.42 acres) and Airport Park only. For the dog run at Memorial Park, the hours are from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. for both weekdays and weekends. “This was a very contentious issue for a number of reasons,” said Mayor Richard Bloom just before the vote was taken. “For that I am extremely pleased with the responsible manner in which the city handled this issue.”
Bloom said he understood the frustrations felt by Mar Vista residents, but felt city staff “was on top of this issue from the get go,” and tried to negotiate with residents. When that failed, staff continued to monitor the park, as they said the would from the outset.
“Now here we are and hopefully we are all going to sing ‘Kumbaya’ and walk away tonight,” Bloom said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 13, 2007. Read the original PDF.