Bullhead City considers early‑morning leash‑free beach at Rotary Park

City staff presented a plan on Aug. 5 to create a leash‑free dog beach at Rotary Park, proposing the beach be signed and gated and open off‑leash from 4:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. Staff said the area is already naturally separated from the main walking path and would require only modest planting and short fencing in a couple of spots to create secure gates and entry points. The proposal would require a future amendment to the city code to permit an identified leash‑free zone.

Miss Johnson, the parks presenter, described signage, two types of gates, the proposed hours and a set of rules that would be posted at the entrance. As read to council, the rules include requiring dogs to have valid license and vaccination tags, keeping leashes in hand when entering or leaving through the gates, securing the gate upon entry and exit, users assuming liability for their dogs’ actions, and prohibitions on aggressive dogs, dogs under four months and dogs in heat. The city would provide waste bags and receptacles, staff said.

The proposal drew practical questions from council members and residents. A council member who bikes the Rotary Park path said cyclists regularly encounter groups of walkers and leashed dogs and asked the city to consider a spur or designated bike lane so riders would not have to swerve into dirt to get past people and animals. The council and parks commissioners agreed the path‑widening idea is worth exploring and that the current eight‑foot path could be rerouted or spurred around the leash‑free area.

Several council members and parks commissioners said the 4:30 a.m. start time was a judgment call intended to capture early users and to avoid daytime crowd conflicts; staff suggested seasonal hours or a pilot period and welcomed adjustments after monitoring. On enforcement, parks ranger Dave Heath said rangers respond to incidents and mediate conflicts but do not have citation authority for every park rule; police could issue leash‑violation citations when present, so staff described enforcement as a mix of ranger intervention, voluntary compliance and police support for clear violations.

In public comment, resident Sean Reed urged the council to add explicit guidance for service animals and ADA compliance, warning that enforcement officers sometimes lack training to recognize legitimate service‑animal behavior and asking that exemptions and training be specified. Other regular path users said they supported the concept but reiterated that owners should not be allowed to leave dogs unattended and that gates should be secure.

Council members directed staff to take the feedback, keep the proposal as a stand‑alone concept distinct from other dog‑park master‑plan work, and return with code language and any revisions to hours or fencing options. No formal vote was taken; council later recessed and moved to the next agenda item.