6-18-12 Off Leash Areas Pilot Off Leash Dog Areas Pilot Program
Town Council Meeting
March 19, 2012
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Off Leash History
2009 Parks Commission Vote
Did not support an off-leash area pilot program
Unofficial Off Leash Use Areas
Increasing over the last two years
Primarily focused in 3-4 parks
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History (Cont.)
Town Council Direction
February 6, 2012: Directed staff to bring topic to Council in March
Parks Commission
February 7, 2012: Recommended staff develop a proposal for off-leash use
Town
Council Direction
March 19, 2012: Directed staff to conduct a community process and provide recommendation by June 18, 2012
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Other Local Programs
Local Off Leash Areas
City of San Carlos (Pilot)
City of Burlingame
City of San Mateo
City of Santa Cruz
City of Menlo Park
Feedback from other cities
Fenced implementations concentrate
turf damage
Unfenced allows for more flexibility
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Proposal Guidelines
Select Parks
Bachman, Live Oak Manor, and La Rinconada
Limited Hours or Days
Selected morning and/or evening hours
Limited days or rotating schedule
Self Enforcement
Posted rules
Utilize
existing licensing programs
Neighborhood-based user groups
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Community Process
3 Community Meetings were held at Louise Van Meter Elementary School
Meeting #1: Gathered input on idea of an off-leash pilot program
Meeting #2: Proposed specific areas and hours
Meeting
#3: Refined areas and hours
Removed La Rinconada as a potential pilot location
6
Community Feedback
Concerns
Potential for incidents with children
Negative interactions between dogs and people having picnics
Potential for additional issues with dog waste, if dogs are allowed off-leash.
Interactions
between on-leash dogs and off-leash dogs
Increased parking and noise
Increased maintenance
Liability for the Town of Los Gatos should a dog harm a person or another dog.
Potential issues
with cars where the off-leash areas may be close to the street.
Uncertainty about who will monitor and enforce the program
7
Community Feedback
Support
Responsible dog owners looking for 2 hours/day of time for off-leash use
Participants of the off-leash groups often clean the litter and waste from other park users
Advocates
for off-leash hours feel they could help monitor the program
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Staff Evaluation and Proposal
Feedback from community meetings, email, and phone correspondence was used to formulate proposal
Current use patterns were examined
Physical layout of each park was evaluated
6 month
pilot
Bachman Park – 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. daily
Live Oak Manor Park – 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. daily
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Bachman Park
10
Live Oak Manor
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Staff Recommendation and Implementation
Signage will be posted
Park entrances
Designated areas
Rules developed and posted
Use best practices from other jurisdictions
Monitoring of off-leash hours
Enforcement for all other
parks and outside of off-leash hours
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Parks Commission
Staff Recommendation was presented to the Parks Commission on June 5, 2012
10 members of the public were present
6 members of the public spoke on the issue
Parks Commission voted to
recommend the proposed pilot program to Town Council (6-3 vote)
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Parks Commission
3 additional recommendations
Report back on progress at future Parks Commission meetings
Communicate pilot locally
Commission sub-committee to address pilot and other dog issues
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Recommendation
Accept the staff report on the community input process and recommendation regarding a dog off-leash pilot program.
Direct staff to begin a dog off-leash pilot program for daily, limited
hours at Bachman Park (7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.) and Live Oak Manor Park (9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.)
Direct staff to report back to the Town Council regarding the status of the program
no later than six months after implementation.
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