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16. Off-leash opportunities for dogsDEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION CUPERTIN~ Agenda Item No. ~ lD SUBJECT CITY MALL 10300 TORRE AVENUE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255 TELEPHONE: (408) 777-3110 • FAX: (408) 777-3366 MEETING DATE: April 15, 2008 A Parks and Recreation Commissioner, as an individual, approached the City Council under oral communications and asked that the Commission be tasked with studying options for dog-off-leash areas/times in city parks. INTRODUCTION There have been a number of false starts on this issue in past years. The file goes back fifteen years to April 1993. Options suggested by residents over the years have included: a dog park, dog off leash area, and dog off leash times in neighborhood parks. The Council has never moved to advance a specific option. There has been an electronic petition circulating, and a recent article in the Cupertino Courier regarding a dog off-leash area. A request to address this issue has not been made to the Parks and Recreation Commission at a meeting. If the city is to undertake a project to address the need, staff requests that the project be added to the work program during budget review, and that some project parameters be defined. Possible parameters are discussed for information within this report, so that Council might ponder them in advance of the budget hearing. BACKGROUND The earliest record in the department files of a dog park request came in April 1993. At that time the County of Santa Clara was considering dog off leash areas. The City took no action. In October 20(}2 a resident and her dog (a yellow lab) attended a Parks and Recreation Commission meeting and asked the Commission to considez a dog park for Cupertino. The timing was good; Council typically discusses the work program in January or February, and staff gathered and provided information to the Commission so they might give-input in advance of the work program discussion. A copy of the presentation from the Commission meeting is attached for Council's information. Staff and the Commission were told that they were ahead of the Council on this matter and the initiative was shelved. ~s-~ The results of the September 2002, Resident Satisfaction Survey {conducted biannually by Godbe Research) were published in early 2003 and revealed that: • 73.3% of Cupertino households had no dogs • 16.5% of Cupertino households had one dog, and • 7% reported more than one dog. • 3.2% were unresponsive When residents were asked to choose two possible projects from a list of projects they deemed important for the city (including a dog park}, only 3% recommended a dog park. The question about dog ownership was asked again in the 2004 survey, and • 80.9% of the households reported no dogs, • 11.1 % reported one dog and, • 3.8% reported more than one dog. • 4.2% were unresponsive. The question about a dog park was not asked in 2004, and no questions about dogs were asked in 2006. Santa Clara County completed the update of their comprehensive recreation plan and the need for dog off leash areas was recognized. In many ways County parks, which are much larger and generally not located in residential areas, are better venues for off-leash recreation than tightly designed municipal parks within neighborhoods. City and County staffs have had numerous conversations regarding the opportunity to build a dog park at Stevens Creek County Park to serve Cupertino. If the option is attractive to Council, a budget for construction and on-going maintenance is needed. Other options for off-leash dog play have been suggested including: areas within parks for dogs to be off-leash and/or times for dogs to be off-leash in parks. Our current policy is that dogs are welcome in parks anytime on leash. Leash laws are borne of the need to manage public facilities for user comfort and safety. The Council may chose to go the route of allowing dogs off leash for given periods as a lower cost alternative to building a dog park, but the consequence is liability for any attack on person or animal. We are responsible for managing City facilities in a safe manner at all times. Advising residents that dogs may be roaming free in a park during a given time does not limit that liability. Our risk manager with the ABAG insurance pool has advised that it is most prudent to define, and enclose, a dog off leash area and to manage the area. Some important considerations for dog parks include: requiring that all animals be licensed and vaccinated and possibly requiring animals to be muzzled. Some dog parks have areas for small and large dogs. Most require that children in the park be accompanied by an adult {as well as a dog). DLSCUSSION Does the Council want to be in the off-leash business and if so, does the Council want to define/restrict the off-leash area with fencing, creating a "dog park"? Assuming the answer is yes, then: . ~s-2 What space is the Council willing to commit to an off leash area (within our existing park inventory) and, what budget is available for implementation? Attached is information regazding dog parks, as well as aerials of neighborhood pazks that were considered as possible venues in the past. Most of the parks have athletic fields and other amenities, and the remnant pieces aze the buffers between the park and adjacent homes -poor choices for dog off leash areas. The only park with reasonably sized un-programmed open space, in staff's opinion is Linda Vista Park, but iti is tucked behind aneighborhood-not the best option for driving access, and the open space is sloping. The site identified within Stevens Creek County Park is just behind the Villa Maria picnic area. STAFF RECOMMENDATION No action is recommended at this time but it is suggested that the Council consider a dog park for Cupertino and project parameters during the discussion of the annual budget in May. SUBMITTED BY: Theres Ambrosi Smith, Director Parks and Recreation APPROVED FOR SUBMISSION TO CITY COUNCII.: ~f~ ~~~ David W. Knapp, City Manager 16-3 - - . - .. .. ~^ 1 had- ~~~a,;Do.g- Park., , . .~f _ - ~at~-"its,~<simpl'est~t~erfi~rrmp"dvg'part~"-- - ~: • generally ~is used ~wh~ere~~tF~e~ "c~~esig:n ~©:f " . ~ w w .. ~. .., ~ -. w .. Q.~:p~r. k~an~l'its .am~n~Fties=~make;~f;c~eQr~ - ~~ ~~. :that~:dogs care .i~vit.~d:, not;: just: .:. . 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