City officials want to reassess public desire for off-leash dog park
After nearly two years of planning and negotiating an off-leash dog run failed to materialize, La Cañada Parks and Recreation Commissioners returned to the drawing table last week, deciding to reassess public interest before continuing the matter further.
The conversation about creating a linear fenced-in area for people to run or walk with their dogs has been developing since October 2014, when a group of residents expressed frustration with a Pasadena Humane Society officer they claimed was ambushing them and issuing citations and warnings for off-leash dogs.
Hearing neighbors’ complaints, City Council members asked the parks commission to identify areas that might provide a legal alternative for dog owners wishing to play in public with unleashed canines.
Five areas — including the Cross Town Trail north of Foothill Boulevard behind Armstrong Nursery, Hall Beckley Canyon off Jessen Drive, and Rockridge Terrace near the Crescenta-Cañada YMCA — were researched by the commission.
Owned by Southern California Edison and used by the city under an easement agreement, the Cross Town Trail stood out as an ideal spot for its central location and popularity among dog owners and walkers.
Carl Alameda, the city’s director of administration, explained to commissioners in a meeting last Thursday that city officials had been talking with Southern California Edison representatives about erecting a fence off of the main trail northward to Olive Lane where dogs could roam leash free under human supervision.
Edison asked the city to present schematic designs for the project, and ongoing discussions centered around safety and land use. Alameda said those talks stalled and then came to an abrupt halt in July, however, shortly after an Edison employee working as a liaison for La Cañada was reassigned and a new staff member took her place, Alameda said.
“The answer that we finally got back is that a dog park, in no form, would be allowed on any Edison property,” he said. “So with that new information staff is coming back tonight to see if there’s any interest in still pursuing this as a potential project in the city or not.”
Commissioners considered a new location, Mayor’s Discovery Park by the Glendale (2) Freeway on-ramp, which a council member had suggested after seeing many dog owners recreate there. Alameda said the park currently functions, under a joint-use agreement with neighboring Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as an access point to nearby fields used by children on certain days.
Alameda floated the option of piloting a dog park there once a week, on days children didn’t use the fields, but indicated another newly opened dog park in La Crescenta about a mile away might be close enough to meet the needs of La Cañada dog owners.
Commissioners said they’d prefer to seek resident input on the newly revised set of options.
“It would be good to know if the demand was still there from the people who wanted it,” said Commission Chair Jeff Olson.
Commissioner Jim Kambe agreed.
“I think people are (already) using a lot of facilities off leash, whether it’s right or wrong, but I guess the question really is, do we still have a need for an off-leash area?”
The commission directed city staff to get feedback from the residents who initially raised the issue with members of the City Council and bring back the item at a future meeting.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
