Pilot Program for Off-Leash Dog Areas

Recently the County Council heard a presentation by our Parks and Recreation department about a pilot program for off-leash areas for dogs. Off-leash areas are not fenced and would be allowed in designated areas in already-operating county parks. This shouldn’t be confused with dog parks, which are fenced, have limited access and are only used for one purpose like Herman Franks, Millrace, Ron Wood parks. Each of these has specific areas used only as dog parks.

The Parks and Rec department is proposing this pilot to implement some of the information they gathered in 2008 for their “Off-Leash Dog Park Master Plan.” Once the program is finished they will be able to collect more public input and gather information on what they learned during the process.
Off-leash areas become more popular the more our county grows, but they aren’t without concerns. The county has to consider dog owners’ compliance with regulations, enforcement, water quality and natural area disturbance. The county did their best to mitigate those concerns by looking for diverse geographic layouts, existing dog owner utilization, and using lower programmed areas.

During the next year Parks and Rec will implement a pilot program and will do the following:

1. Work with Animal Control and Flood Control
2. Accomplish this with no budget impact
3. Use signage indicating off-leash areas
4. Install pet waste garbage cans in all locations
5. Monitor the following:

• Patron Compliance
• Water quality
• Park conditions of turf, vegetation and wildlife
• Neighborhood impact such as parking, noise, traffic and usage

As a Council, we are interested in feedback and will be reviewing these suggestions. Thanks to all of you who have already emailed and shared your thoughts on this issue!