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Board agrees to seek rezoning for proposed Lakewatch dog park; volunteers promise fundraising
Summary
Parks and recreation staff and a local nonprofit asked supervisors to submit a rezoning application so a county-owned parcel in Lakewatch Plantation can host a dog park; the board authorized staff to file for rezoning and flagged a later budget request.
The Franklin County Board of Supervisors gave staff permission to submit a rezoning application to the planning department for a proposed dog park on county-owned land adjacent to the Lakewatch Plantation collection site.
Parks and Recreation staff presented a conceptual design showing roughly 1 acre under fence (0.7 acres for large dogs; 0.3 for small dogs), an asphalt parking area, double‑gated entries, shade structures and accessible parking. The parcel is currently in the Lakewatch Plantation master plan and zoned Planned Community Development (PCD); staff said the PCD zoning would remain but the master-plan land‑use designation must be amended to allow the dog‑park use.
Recreational Development of Franklin County (RDFC) reported it has raised $38,500 toward the project and expects further sponsorships and pledges once formal rezoning is announced. Parks staff estimated a total construction cost around $131,000 and presented a preliminary request for a maximum county contribution of about $55,281 if fundraising does not reduce the local share.
The board voted to allow staff to file the rezoning application; staff said the administrative rezoning process takes roughly 90 days and the planning commission could consider the change as early as September. Supervisors discussed possible funding sources if board capital or reserve funds are later requested, and staff said final budget estimates and any funding requests would return to the board after the rezoning and additional fundraising.
Action: board approved submitting a rezoning application to planning; funding decisions will follow further fundraising and final budget work.
