Press
January 3, 2007, Five Cities Times Press Recorder
"Bark park" plan to be revealed: Off-leash dog park would be located in Oceano
Josh Petray/Staff Writerjpetray@timespressrecorder.com
Parkless pooches may benefit from a plan soon to be unveiled for the Five Cities area's first official off-leash dog park.
On Jan. 10, a proposal for a dog park in a 5-acre retention basin on South Elm Street near The Pike in Oceano will be considered by the Arroyo Grande Parks and Recreation Commission.
Members of the Five Cities Dog Park Association are crafting the proposal, according to Dan Hernandez, director of the city's Parks, Recreation and Facilities Department.
The proposal will demonstrate how much commitment the association has for the park and see what support the commission has for the project, Hernandez said.
An Arroyo Grande commission is hearing the proposal because the park would be located on city-owned land located within county jurisdiction in Oceano.
The proposal includes low-maintenance landscaping with trees to complement the surrounding eucalyptus grove, benches, upgraded fencing, a sidewalk and a walkway.
It would be developed under a five-year use permit and a funding plan utilizing members' donations, business sponsorships, estate contributions and public and private grants, as well as fundraising events.
In the first phase of its plan, the association proposes to utilize half of the 5-acre, unlandscaped retention basin.
Parking would be provided on site and on South Elm Street, and the park would include signs, an information kiosk, trash receptacles, and six "mutt-mitt" dispensers so owners could clean up after their dogs.
It would be enclosed by a chain link fence and would be compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, according to the proposal.
The association says it would help build and maintain the facility with minimal cost to the city.
Association member Jerry Bunin said the group will seek to be responsible for its own liability insurance, cleanup and trash pickup.
The group, which includes dog owners who formerly let their animals play off-leash at Costa Bella Park in Grover Beach, is committed to the development of a local off-leash park in the Five Cities area, according to its Web site, www.fivecitiesdogpark.org.
Until last December, when San Luis Obispo County Division of Animal Services officials told residents their canines couldn't roam leashless at the 1.3-acre Costa Bella, dog owners had used the landscaped retention basin there as the only unofficial off-leash park in the Five Cities, explained President Cynthia Eklund.
Currently, it is illegal to have dogs off-leash in South County public parks, with the nearest official off-leash facilities located in Nipomo and San Luis Obispo.
The project has already garnered the support of 4th District Supervisor Katcho Achadjian, who formerly told the Times-Press-Recorder he would assist with the project at the county level.
Hernandez said the commission conceptually supports the idea.
"We're in favor of it in concept, but we have to remain sensitive as well. We have to make sure that any proposal doesn't stretch city resources any further than they are," Hernandez noted, adding, "It would be a definite amenity to the community."
The project would likely come to the commission at least once more before any recommendation is made to the City Council, according to Hernandez.
Eklund said the group is coordinating with architect Lenny Grant of LGA Architecture Inc. on project drawings to be presented to the commission on Jan. 10.