Recently in Palos Verdes dog park Category
In the ongoing saga to establish a dog park somewhere on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the RPV City Council will discuss conceptual designs for Lower Hesse Park at its meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The meeting is at Fred Hesse Community Park, 29301 Hawthorne Blvd., RPV.
A number of nearby residents have complained about adding a dog park there, however. Reportedly council members may direct staff to work on finding another spot for a dog park
should that element not survive approvals for remaking Lower Hesse Park. (A dog park suggested for Grand View Park already has been dropped by planners.)
From Maureen Megowan, who with her husband Bruce has been spearheading this effort:
There were very few dog park supporters at the three public input meetings held this summer, and most of the input received was given by residents close by the proposed park who were vocal in their opposition to a dog park ....
The importance of (Tuesday's) meeting is magnified for two reasons. First, only negative comments about a dog park were received at the three public meetings. Secondly, we were recently informed that the County of Los Angeles would not even begin to review the feasibility of a dog park on the former Palos Verdes Landfill site until June 2012, two years from now.
.... Even if you believe that (Lower Hesse) may not be the appropriate location for a dog park, if you would like to see a dog park built somewhere on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, please voice your support .... If you want to see a dog park built on The Hill, now is when we need your support.
For details, call or email Maureen at 310-541-6416; mmegowan@cox.net
If you want to learn more about dog parks -- especially the do's and don'ts -- dogparkUSA.com has compiled some tips you may find educational and helpful.
Daily Breeze reporter Melissa Pamer updates us on the effort to establish a dog park on the Palos Verdes Peninsula -- specifically on 3 acres of the 100+ acres of the former Palos Verdes Peninsula Landfill in Rolling Hills Estates.
Below, dog owners visit the beach below Trump National Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes. In the near future, though, they could find themselves facing citations for off-leashing their dogs on the property.
Steve McCrank / Staff Photographer
County officials say any dog park on landfill site will have to wait until at least 2012 -- and that's before a study of the issue could even begin.
Alternate (but much smaller) sites are now being explored in Rancho Palos Verdes for the project. But those already face neighborhood resistance.
Sigh. It looks like getting a dog park on the former Palos Verdes Peninsula Landfill in Rolling Hills Estates might take longer than expected, if it even happens.
Mike Gin, field deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, told Bruce and Maureen Megowan in an email that it could be 2012 before the county would be in a position to even consider the proposal. He writes:
The Department of Parks and Recreation has initiated a pilot dog park project at Crescenta Valley Park in La Crescenta. It is currently in the design phase and is scheduled to open in June of 2011. As this will be the first county dog park, the department will be evaluating the successes and issues associated with the facility during the first year of operation before considering additional facilities.
Because Crescenta Valley Dog Park is a pilot project, we were not required to change the county code regarding off-leash dogs. However, if the county decides to develop additional dog off-leash facilities, the code would have to be amended prior to development. Due to this timeline, the earliest that we would be able to consider a dog park on the Palos Verdes Landfill would be June 2012.
There also are land safety concerns at the landfill that could delay plans there even longer, Gin noted. So while Gin said that a dog park there "may be a possibility in the long-term," it won't be happening anytime soon.
With that, he encouraged the Megowans and their supporters to continue looking at alternative sites on the peninsula, including Lower Hesse Park and Grandview Park in Rancho Palos Verdes. But even if a dog park component is approved at one or both of those parks, the sites are limited in space. So any dog park there would be quite small.
I'm not sure why it is, but off-leash dog parks around here are just notoriously difficult to establish. Go figure.
Read our earlier posts on the PV dog park proposal.
Plans are moving forward for a dog park on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Bruce Megowan, who with his wife Maureen have been the driving force behind the idea, recently forwarded letters of support from the cities of Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes
Estates -- along with 800 petition signatures from residents -- to Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe and his staff.
You can read the letters at these links:
Proponents are hoping to move the proposal forward soon (the county has jurisdiction over the proposed site -- a 2- to 3-acre spot on the southwest corner of the 175-acre former Palos Verdes Peninsula Landfill). The site already has a curb cut and driveway off of Hawthorne Boulevard, Bruce Megowan noted, as well as a graded parking area and an existing above-ground sprinkler system.
There's still the issue of money. Development cost estimates are $100,000 for fencing, grading, water fountain stations, and other necessities. But Bruce and Maureen are hopeful they'll be able to find the funding through grants and donations.
The landfill is at Palos Verdes Drive North and Hawthorne Boulevard.
You can see the full proposal on Maureen Megowan's blog.
If you'd like more information or want to offer help or suggestions, contact Bruce at bmegowan@cox.net or Maureen at mmegowan@cox.net.
In a 4-1 vote Tuesday night, Rolling Hills Estates council members approved the idea of setting aside two to three acres of the 175-acre former Palos Verdes Landfill to establish a fenced-in dog park.
More than a dozen supporters turned out at the meeting to urge support for the concept spearheaded by Bruce and Maureen Megowan who have been working for two years to get a dog park somewhere on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
(Read more on Maureen's blog.)
But this is not a "done deal."
The proposal now has to go before officials in Los Angeles County for review, possible studies, and then a final determination. And there also is fund-raising ahead -- Bruce says the park could cost between $70,000 and $100,000 when you factor in fencing, water, signage, ground cover and other expenses.
This all means that a dog park -- should it receive final approvals -- could be still 18 months to two years away from reality.
Bruce, however, is confident that funds can be found in grants and donations. He also suggested a park membership format be considered in which park users would be required to register and pay an annual fee -- $20? $50? -- to visit the dog park.
The advantage of that, Bruce said, is that the city could ensure that dogs coming into the facility all have licenses in their respective cities and are up-to-date on vaccinations. What do you think? Would you pay an annual fee to visit a dog park?
Clearly the work's not over. Contact the Megowans if you'd like to help. Email them at either bmegowan@cox.net or mmegowan@cox.net.
Their full proposal is the result of much research by Bruce, who told me he studied dog parks throughout the nation and probably is something of an expert by now on issues such as design and materials.
I must say, I was impressed and a bit surprised by the enthusiastic support of the city council.
But then I'm used to Los Angeles and San Pedro -- where a more than decade-long effort to establish a permanent dog park continues to be stuck in quicksand, perennially on a back burner due to bureaucracy and, frankly, what appears to be simply a lack of political will on the issue.
(Yes, there is a temporary dog park in San Pedro, but at just 3/4 of 1 acre it's too small for safety when it's crowded and is vulnerable to being closed whenever the Port of L.A., which owns the space near the freeway and bridge onramps, needs the land.)
Read our earlier posts on the PV dog park.
For those of you interested in the effort to establish an off-leash dog park on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the issue will come up at Tuesday (6/8) night's Rolling Hills Estates City Council meeting (The item is under #9, New Business, on the agenda.)
Supporters are encouraging those who back the proposal to include a dog park on the former Palos Verdes Landfill site to attend the meeting. Apparently very few supporters have shown up in the past, which sends the message to council members that the issue is not particularly important to residents.
So if you care about this, now's the time to start showing up. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. at Rolling Hills Estates City Hall, 4045 Palos Verdes Drive North (just west of Crenshaw Boulevard).
Here's the letter that went out from Maureen Megowan who, with her husband Bruce, is spearheading the movement:
... The City Council will vote as to whether to accept the Parks and Activities Commission's recommendation to submit a letter of support to the County of Los Angeles to construct a dog park on the former Palos Verdes Landfill site. See the dog park proposal for details ....
... This is a key vote in our attempt to get a dog park developed on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and it is important that as many dog lovers as possible attend the meeting to show support from the community. I have been very disappointed in the turn-out by dog park supporters at other city meetings and unless people are ready to start showing their support for this, we simply will not be successful. ... (T)he best turnout we have had at previous city meetings of dog park supporters has been 3 or 4.
They've put in a lot of work on this for more than a year now. If you support the idea, let them know by voting with your feet and coming to Tuesday's meeting. Below is an aerial shot of the location being considered.
Considering that there is apparently no serious possibility (at least anytime in the near future) of establishing a decent-sized permanent dog park in San Pedro -- to replace the 3/4-acre temporary space near the freeway now graciously on loan from the Port of Los Angeles -- I'd think there would be pretty widespread interest throughout the area in something like this.
But maybe not. And whether this is a suitable location or not I'm sure will be a matter of study and debate.
If you can't attend the meeting, Maureen suggests e-mailing city officials with your comments:
RHE City Council member emails:
JudyM@ci.rolling-hills-estates.ca.us
JohnA@ci.rolling-hills-estates.ca.us
SusanS@ci.rolling-hills-estates.ca.us
SteveZ@ci.rolling-hills-estates.ca.us
FrankZ@ci.rolling-hills-estates.ca.us
City Manager email:
DougP@ci.Rolling-Hills-Estates.ca.us
A new round of meetings is coming up for Bruce and Maureen Megowan's year-long effort to establish an off-leash, fenced-in dog park somewhere on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
If you support this issue -- or would otherwise like to weigh in, pro or con -- you'll have a couple opportunities on Saturday and Tuesday:
- 9 a.m. to noon Saturday (5/15), community workshop, Fred Hesse Park, 29301 Hawthorne Blvd., Rancho Palos Verdes; preliminary plans for Grand View Park and Lower Hesse Park -- which both include possible dog park areas -- will be discussed. Other workshops will follow in July and September.
- 7 p.m. Tuesday (5/18), parks commission meeting, Rolling Hills Estates City Hall, 4045 Palos Verdes Drive North; continuation of a discussion about possible uses for the former Palos Verdes Landfill.
You can contact Maureen at 310-541-6416 or email her at mmegowan@cox.net.
For more information, see our former posts on the topic
Bruce and Maureen Megowan will be speaking to the Rolling Hills Estates City Council members tonight regarding the establishment of a fenced-in, off-leash dog park on the Peninsula.
They're encouraging supporters to show up (on time), fill out a speaker's card and give it to
the City Clerk so they can speak in favor of the proposal. It's on the agenda under audience items so that means it'll come up at the beginning of the meeting.
Here are the details:
When: 7:30 p.m. tonight (Tuesday, Feb. 9)
Where: RHE City Council Chambers, 4045 Palos Verdes Drive North, Rolling Hills Estates
Information: Maureen Megowan, 310-541-6416.
For background, read this November 2009 Daily Breeze story
We received this today from Maureen Megowan, who along with her husband, Bruce, has been trying to establish a fenced-in, off-leash dog park somewhere on the Palos Verdes Peninsula:
Tomorrow evening, Tuesday January 5th, the Parks and Activities Commission of the City of Rolling Hills Estates will be holding their regular meeting at which my husband and I will be speaking regarding our proposal for a dog park at the former Palos Verdes Landfill site. The meeting begins at 7:30 pm at the Rolling Hills City Hall at 4045 PALOS VERDES DRIVE NORTH (just west of Crenshaw Boulevard ) , and this item is first on their agenda.
It would be very helpful if we could have as many dog park supporters as possible at this meeting, particularly Rolling Hills Estates residents. Even if you do not live in Rolling Hills Estates, your participation at this meeting would be very helpful. If you would like to speak to this matter, please fill out a speakers request form when you arrive at the meeting. I woould encourage you to speak up and let the commission know of the support in the community for an off leash dog park.
Questions? Maureen can be reached at 310-541-6416.
See this Daily Breeze story for background.
About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.