Recently in dog parks Category

For those of you following the debate about allowing leashed dogs  in municipal parks in Redondo Beach, the Los Angeles Times published a story today.

The Daily Breeze story on the same issue ran Thursday.

I don't know how they do it over there, but Long Beach is getting its fifth off-leash dog park. Opening festivities are set for 10 a.m. Saturday.

From Justin Rudd's latest newsletter:

new opening of the Uptown Dog Park in Long Beach
located at the western end of Scherer Park, 4600 Long Beach Blvd., this Saturday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m.

And from our sister paper, the Long Beach Press-Telegram:

The Uptown Dog Park will provide separate areas for small and large dogs to play off leash. The fenced area is near picnic areas and a parking lot. Uptown Dog Park will be open from 5 a.m. to dusk; Scherer Park hours are 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

For more information about the opening of the Uptown Dog Park, call 562-570-6685.

Here's a map.

So here's some update info on last night's trio of meetings regarding dog- and park-related issues in the South Bay:

• Redondo Beach: Dog owners probably face an uphill battle to get the City Council there to overturn or relax a longtime ban on canines in that city's parks, according to a post this morning on the Daily Breeze Pipeline blog by Kristin Agostoni, our reporter who covered the meeting. Discussion was in response to two petitions calling for a change to the 1979 city ordinance that forbids dogs (leashed or otherwise) in municipal parks other than the designated off-leash dog park on Flagler & 190th. Councilman Bill Brand and Mayor Mike Gin raised the matter which now goes to the the city's Parks and Recreation Commission after a 4-1 vote moving it forward for more study last night. Commissioners will consider changing the rule for Czuleger Park only for now, perhaps as a pilot? But opposition remains strong to changing the citywide law, with Councilman Steve Aspel saying this: "Someone's leaving a thousand turds a day on top of the Esplanade. Ask our public works department." And there was this from Councilman Pat Aust, who cast the only dissenting vote:  "Parks are for people and kids. Zoos are for animals." **********(Read Kristin's follow-up story in Thursday's Daily Breeze.)
• Manhattan Beach: Council members there voted 4-1 to approve (with changes to the original proposal) an $18,200 off-leash dog run at Polliwog Park. It would be the city's third such spot, following similar set-ups at Live Oak and Marine Avenue parks.
• Rancho Palos Verdes: Bruce and Maureen Megowan report a generally positive response to proposals for dog parks at Lower Hesse Park and/or Grandview Park at last night's RPV City Council meeting. (See the full report and recap on Maureen Megowan's blog.) Council members authorized spending $50,000 to hire a designer to flesh out the proposed park designs (which  include other elements besides a dog park), but they stressed that this was only a "first step" and not a commitment to impelment the designs. The Megowans also raised questions about the proposed size of the dog parks (relatively small as drawn, I gather), adding that research shows the most successful (and safest) parks include at least 3 acres -- 2 acres for large dogs and 1 acre for a separate small dog space. There are still homeowner objections to address, however, and none of this will probably be a slam dunk. But other cities on The Hill reportedly are  entertaining proposals to establish a dog park as well, according to the Megowans. (Two suggested dog park sites were turned down by Rolling Hills Estates at a meeting this week, though, I'm told. But discussions continue on the possibility of using part of the PV Landfill area in that city.)

Email mmegowan@cox.net for more information.  

So, nothing firm on any of these proposals yet, but stay tuned.

As reported in the Daily Breeze (shameless plug, you really should get a subscription if you don't already have one), three meetings tonight could give dogs more park space in our local cities:

• Redondo Beach City Council, in response to a citizens' petition, will start talks about allowing leashed dogs in Czulegar Park. City codes currently prohibit canines (leashed or otherwise) in all RB parks, with the exception of the designated off-leash dog park adjacent to Dominguez Park. If the council agrees, the issue would likely go to the Parks and Recreation Commission for review. Tonight's meeting is at 6 p.m. at 415 Diamond St. (Streaming video of the meeting is available from the city's Web site.)
• Manhattan Beach leaders will consider an off-leash dog run for sprawling Polliwog Park. If approved, the $18,200 run would be the city's third such spot, following similar set-ups at Live Oak and Marine Avenue parks. Tonight's meeting is at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall, 1400 Highland Ave. (Go to the city's Web site for information on how to view the meeting via cable or computer.)
• Rancho Palos Verdes City Council will weigh plans for improvements at Grandview Park and Lower Hesse Park, with both proposals including a possible fenced-in, off-leash dog park. (See our separate post below  for more details.) Mayor Larry Clark also will give a presentation on the need for a dog park on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at Fred Hesse Community Park, 29301 Hawthorne Blvd. (You can also view a broadcast of the meeting on the city's Web site.)

If you live in these areas and care about the issue, you might want to attend one of the meetings in person to lend your voice to the discussion in public comment. And let us know if you attended any of the sessions. We'll have follows on the outcome of the meetings in the Daily Breeze.

Supporters of an effort to establish a fenced-in, off-leash dog park are being asked to attend Tuesday night's (Nov. 17) Rancho Palos Verdes City Council meeting -- 7 p.m. at Fred Hesse Community Park, 29301 Hawthorne Blvd., Rancho Palos Verdes.

We've been following this campaign for the past year now (click here to read our previous posts on the issue).

Up to now, there has been a focus on using a portion of the Palos Verdes Landfill area on Hawthorne Boulevard just north of Palos Verdes Drive North, which is county land in Rolling Hills Estates.

But while that's still being pursued, the city of Rancho Palos Verdes on its own has been actively courting the idea of putting a dog park at one of its existing parks as well with support from the Megowans and others. This now appears to be on a faster track with backing from the city's mayor who is slated to give an oral presentation on the concept of a dog park as part of the Tuesday night agenda.

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, the RPV City Council will review a 30-page staff report outlining proposed improvements recommended for both Grandview Park and lower Hesse Park.

A dog park has been included for both as a possibility along with other uses -- such as tennis and basketball courts, picnic facilities and trails -- that I gather would co-exist at one or both sites in any variety of mixes. 

Grandview takes in 18 acres of land on Montemalaga Drive near Hawthorne Boulevard; Lower Hesse (29301 Hawthorne Blvd.) also offers 18 acres.

But a dog park in either location won't be easy. Homeowners near both parks already have expressed concerns if not outright opposition.

From the Grandview Park Homeowners' Association: "If you put in a dog park, it will deter the natural wildlife."

The homeowners' association near Lower Hesse is recommending against a dog park there, saying that "people will come from all over the South Bay to use it." Another quote from the group: "The doggie park has a really high potential to create a noise, traffic, parking and visual nuisance in our neighborhood."

Bruce and Maureen Megowan, who launched the Peninsula dog park effort last year, are asking supporters to attend the RPV meeting. (There's another meeting at the same time on Tuesday night in RHE where a dog park is slated for discussion as well. But in their latest email the Megowans are are urging people to attend the RPV City Council meeting instead.)

From the Megowans' latest letter:

Mayor Larry Clark, in support of our previous presentations to the city council for a dog park on the Peninsula, has been instrumental in proposing a dog park at these two locations and has requested that as many dog park supporters as possible attend this meeting to show community support for the dog park component of these plans

Questions? Call the Megowans at 310-541-2980 or email them at either mmegowan@cox.net or bmegowan@cox.net.

We received an update from Maureen and Bruce Megowan recently about their ongoing efforts to establish an off-leash dog park in one of the four cities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

The couple will attend the PVE City Council meeting this week -- at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 10) -- to discuss the petition drive and ask the city council to put the issue of supporting a dog park on the Hill on their next agenda.

From the letter we received:

The members of the City Council have made it clear that there is no where within the city limits of Palos Verdes Estates that they believe would be acceptable to locate a dog park, but (they) are willing to work with the other cities on the Peninsula to build a dog park somewhere on the Peninsula. My husband Bruce and I will be speaking at the very beginning of the meeting when the public can speak on anything not on the agenda.

And perhaps even most encouraging:

They spoke at the Rolling Hills Estates City Council meeting in October and Maureen reports that the council there "was very supportive of the concept of a dog park in their city limits. The parks and recreation committee of the city will be holding a meeting at City Hall on Tuesday night 11/17 to discuss potential sites within their city for a dog park. Bruce will be attending this meeting."

Anyone interested in attending either of these meetings to lend some moral support is welcome.

Meanwhile, the city of Rancho Palos Verdes also continues to review potential sites within that city for a possible dog park.

So it looks like some real progress is being made.

For more, go to the Megowans' web site.

You can also email them at mmegowan@cox.net or bmegowan@cox.net or call them at 310-541-2980. If you'd like regular updates, you can subscribe to their email service.

Read earlier posts about efforts to develop a dog park on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

This little item comes by way of the Dog Clothes Horse blog about an ongoing experiment that originated in the college town of Ithaca, N.Y.:

Several years ago, dog owners (in Ithaca) began worrying about all the plastic bags filled with dung that ended up in the landfill.

Leon Kochian, a professor of plant biology at Cornell and, more to the point, the owner of a yellow lab, recalled the thinking at the time: "This is Ithaca. There's got to be a more environmentally sensible way to do this."

This year, with Mr. Kochian's nudging, one of the city's dog parks -- part of the Allan H. Treman Marine State Park  -- became a dog waste composting park.

Special corn-based bags, made by the Biobag Company based in Florida, are available at several stations in the park. Dog owners put the bag and its contents into large bins near the park's entrances, which are removed once a week by a company called Cayuga Compost.

AT its composting facility, Cayuga dumps the waste into a pile -- mixed with a bit of yard and wood waste -- quite separate from the company's regular food-waste compost.

And there it will sit -- until the company figures out what it might be good for.

Late next year, Cayuga plans to run tests to determine the composition of the dog waste (after all, a dog's diet is arguably more varied than virtually any other animal's, in accordance with the whims of their owner). If it matures into nutrient-rich compost, it might be applied to potted plants or landscaping, said Mark Whittig, Cayuga's operations manager. If the compost is of poorer quality, it could be used for blending with topsoil, he said.

So there you go.

For the full story, go to the The New York Times.

K-9 corner, the fourth off-leash dog park in Long Beach, opened on Sunday at Ninth Street and Pacific Avenue.

(And that's not all -- two more dog parks are in the works in the Wrigley District at Golden Avenue and Wardlow Road and Scheer Park in North Long Beach, according to the city's parks and recreation department.)

K-9 Corner boasts solar power and cost the city $300,000 to develop.

Photo: Stephen Carr, Long Beach Press-Telegram 

Justin Rudd of Long Beach reminds us that Long Beach will see the grand openings of two new dog parks in the next couple weeks:

Long Beach's 3rd dog park to open this weekend at Lincoln Park downtown by the library @ Broadway. (No other details available yet) ...  The 4th off-leash park "K-9 Corner" will have its Grand Opening at noon on Sunday, Sept. 27. Recreation Dog Park and the Dog Beach are the other two parks for dogs.

The ceremony for the K-9 Corner at 906 Pacific Ave. in downtown Long Beach will take place from noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 27. Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthall will be on hand along with several Long Beach city officials. The park features solar power lighting and drought tolerant landscaping.

The event also features free food, drinks, pet adoptions, information booths and children's activities.

It looks tiny, but nice: