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Council signals new off‑leash designations and asks staff to return with code changes
Summary
After a lengthy discussion, council directed staff to draft code updates to limit off‑leash exceptions to designated areas (staff to return with maps and draft language); preliminary directions included designating Bayview greens, parts of El Dorado Valley/desert and Wilbur Square as off‑leash areas (with voice‑control requirement), keeping North Escalante primarily on‑leash as a socialization/training area, and exploring adoption/volunteer models for park maintenance.
City parks staff and the parks director presented three paths for expanding dog recreation: build a new fenced dog park, designate specified off‑leash hours at existing parks, or permit off‑leash activity in defined desert/open‑space areas. Parks & Recreation Director Julie Calloway outlined pros, cons and cost considerations, and asked for direction.
Calloway said staff’s "easiest to implement" option was allowing off‑leash in the desert and select open spaces but recommended protecting marked hiking trails and conservation easements. She noted the city currently has two fenced dog areas at Veterans Memorial Park and that constructing new fenced parks would require capital funding and ongoing maintenance; staff estimated extra maintenance costs in the tens of thousands of dollars per year for high‑use grassed off‑leash sites.
Council deliberations focused on public safety, conflicts with organized youth sports, and where off‑leash activity most often occurs. Police Chief (speaker 34) told council that Pratt Field at Veterans Park is the focal point for human‑dog conflicts and recounted a recent heated incident; he urged separating uses to reduce confrontations. Council members and staff discussed alternatives such as using the Veterans Park common area wedge, the Bayview strip of grass near Lakeside, North Escalante as an on‑leash training/socialization zone, and permitting off‑leash in El Dorado Valley/desert while explicitly excluding designated hiking trails.
Several council members and residents recommended partnering with volunteer groups ("adopt an off‑leash area") to manage and monitor site cleanliness and behavior, citing a model used in Ventura, Calif., where a citizens’ group assists the city in operating an off‑leash location. After debate the council instructed staff to return with detailed maps (staff said they would prepare a highlighted "yellow line" of proposed desert/open‑space boundaries), potential hours where appropriate, draft code language removing the citywide off‑leash exception and instead authorizing off‑leash only in designated locations (while preserving the requirement that dogs be under voice control in those areas), and options for volunteer partnership agreements.
What happens next: staff will bring back draft code text, maps identifying the proposed off‑leash/open spaces, and recommended enforcement and signage plans. Council repeatedly emphasized that any designated off‑leash area will still require dogs to be under the owner’s control (voice or visual control) and that special events at parks (sports, rentals) will take precedence over recreational off‑leash use.
