Dog park master plan unleashing debate
By Tillie Fong 
| July 27, 2009 | 10:01 AM
As dog parks become increasingly popular, Denver officials are working to create a master plan to ward off conflicts among park users. (iStockphoto.com)
Sammy, a 4 1/2-year-old Husky mix, was having a ball at Berkeley Dog Park.
“It’s great for the community,” his owner, Jason Patterson, said of the park. He threw a tennis ball into the air, and Sammy raced to retrieve it. “Not a lot of dogs get socialized, and for someone who lives in a condo, it’s great for that.”
Patterson, 27, of Denver, was among nearly a dozen people at Berkeley Dog Park on Sunday morning, watching their pets chase balls, sniff other dogs, dig holes in the sand and, occasionally, get into a wrestling match with other pooches.
Patterson called out to his other dog, Roxy, a 5-year-old Rottweiler, to stop her from getting into a tussle with three other dogs.
“She doesn’t fight, but if there is one, she wants to go over and look and find out what’s going on,” he said as Roxy padded back toward him.
The dogs may not be the only ones fighting. At the state level, conflicts over off-leash dogs at Chatfield and Cherry Creek reservoirs are prompting Colorado officials to hold public meetings this week to create new rules for dogs at state parks.
In Denver, city officials hope to ward off similar conflicts by developing a dog park master plan and putting it in place this fall. The goal is to establish guidelines for future dog parks, and to look at what is needed to keep all park users — dog owners or otherwise — happy.
“As high-density housing continues to grow in Denver, the potential for conflict among dog owners and non-dog owners in our park system increases,” said Jill McGranahan, spokeswoman for Denver Parks and Recreation.
Residents want more dog areas
Denver has six dog parks – Berkeley, Barnum, Kennedy Soccer Complex, Fuller, Green Valley Ranch East, and Stapleton. All but Stapleton were established in 2004 as part of a pilot program. Stapleton was set up about a year afterward, said Doug Kelley, director of Denver Animal Control.
The parks department sought public input on dog parks through an online survey in March. The results were released in May. Nearly 4,000 people responded, with the vast majority of them — 86 percent — wanting additional off-leash areas.
Last year, Denver issued 1,612 off-leash tickets to dog owners. This year, that number has jumped to 2,252, with five months to go in 2009. The numbers are not broken down by where tickets were issued, whether in city parks without dog areas, or in other places such as neighborhood streets.
Part of the reason for the dramatic uptick in off-leash violations is because of the addition of two animal-control officers whose job is to patrol Denver’s parks by bicycle. The crackdown is expected to generate $96,000 for the city coffers.
The fine for a first off-leash violation is $80; after two citations, the dog owner must appear in court.
In the dog park survey, 38 percent of the respondents said they have run their dogs off leash in nondesignated areas in Denver parks. Of those, 68 percent said they never got cited for it. Most of the survey respondents — 79 percent — felt that having fenced dog parks would be the solution to off-leash violations.
Three of Denver’s dog parks — Berkeley, Fuller and Stapleton — have fenced-off areas, while the other three have designated off-leash areas with no physical barrier.
Patterson favors a fenced-in dog park, otherwise “I would never see him again,” he said, pointing to Sammy, who had dashed off again at Berkeley Dog Park.
He said he took Sammy and Roxy to Barnum Dog Park once but didn’t care for it because of the potential for conflicts and danger for both dogs and people. Barnum has a designated off-leash area but no fence.
“There are kids in the playground nearby, and there’s the traffic from the street,” Patterson said.
Non-dog owner David Sotelo, 38, of Denver, lives down the block from Berkeley Park. Recently, he took his sons, 7-year-old Elijah and 3-year-old Dominic, on a walk and stopped by the fenced-in dog area.
“It’s good,” he said. “People have a place to take their pets out. That’s good for the dogs, especially if they don’t have a yard.”
Sotelo also liked the idea of a fenced-in dog park better than a designated off-leash area.
“They (the dogs) can’t come out and bother people,” he said.
Still, even fenced-in dog parks can have problems.
Danielle Moore, 32, of Arvada, said she has been coming to Berkeley Dog Park every day for the past year and a half. She lives in an apartment, and Berkeley is the closest dog park where she can let her 4-year-old German shepherd/labrador mix, Kenya, romp.
About a year ago, Moore said Kenya was attacked by another dog at the park. The owner of the other dog couldn’t or wouldn’t control it and “wouldn’t take any responsibility for it,” Moore said, adding that Kenya had to be taken to the vet for medical care afterward.
Moore said she would like to see more park rangers patrol the dog parks. But Patterson said that in many cases, at least at Berkeley, dog owners police themselves.
“If someone has an aggressive dog, they’re driven out of the park” by other dog owners, he said.
Patterson would, however, like to see more dog owners pick up their pets’ poo, which is a dog park rule.
“When I go over there, I have to be careful where I step,” he said, pointing to a grassy area on the other side of the park.
If reported, a dog owner who knowingly does not clean up after his or her dog can be ticketed. The fine is $80 for the first violation and a mandatory court appearance for a second violation. Denver is considering increasing the fines to $150 for a first violation, $250 for a second violation and $500 for a third violation.
“It’s a health hazard,” said Kelley, adding that the increased fines would bring Denver in line with other cities in Colorado and out of state.
Trees, water fountains and lakes
Patterson said he would like to see more trees planted in dog parks.
“It can get pretty hot during the summer,” he said, noting that most of the other dog owners were standing or sitting in the shade of the few trees in the area.
Moore said she would like to see water fountains provided at dog parks. She usually brings a red dog bowl and keeps it filled with water. But Kenya doesn’t get to drink from it very often, as other dogs keep coming by to take a sip.
Currently, only Stapleton Dog Park has a water fountain.
Adam Kohler, 35, of Denver, said he would like to see more dog areas near lakes in city parks.
He has taken Kona, his 3-year-pld Husky-Bernese mountain dog mix to Chatfield a few times, where his dog can play in the water in designated off-leash areas. But it costs him $5 each time since Chatfield is a state park.
Kohler said he would be willing to pay $5 a year to have more dog parks in Denver, especially if he could have one closer to where he lives, say in Washington Park. But he also wondered how well that idea would go over with Denver residents.
“I have a dog, but I’m not sure that non-dog owners would be willing to pay,” he said.
In the dog parks survey, a majority of respondents — 64 percent — said they would be willing to pay a user fee for additional off-leash areas. Of those, 37.5 percent said they would be amenable to an annual fee ranging from $1 to $25.
In the months since the survey was completed, Denver has formed two committees — one comprised of city officials and the other of citizens — to deal with the master plan. The city officials will develop ideas for improving existing dog parks and make recommendations for the planning of new dog parks. The citizens will provide feedback on the proposed plans, policies and recommendations.
Public meetings on the master plan’s final recommendations are expected in early fall. Kelley said he expects heavy turnout for those hearings.
“People are very passionate on both sides of this issue,” he said.
Denver Animal Control, Denver Parks and Recreation, dog parks, Doug Kelley, Jill McGranahan, master plan
