OJAI : Leashed Dogs to Be Allowed on Trail

Dogs will be allowed to stroll the Ojai Valley Trail beginning Oct. 1 as long as they are with a person, on a leash and stay on the asphalt portion of the path.

The owners must also carry something to clean up their pets’ droppings.

Peter Pedroff, Ventura County General Services Agency director, will sign papers early next week to officially designate the bike section of the 9.5-mile bike and bridle trail as a county park area where dogs are allowed, parks officials said.

Dogs will still be prohibited on the wood-chip equestrian path that parallels the bike path along California 33 from Foster Park through Ojai, said Andy Oshita, county parks manager.

Dogs will be allowed with pedestrians only. Skateboarders, cyclists or horseback riders with dogs will face verbal warnings and possible citations from park rangers, Oshita said.

Dogs are banned in county parks unless the areas are designated by the agency director. After pet owners protested signs banning dogs on the trail, the Parks Department recommended a waiver and asked for public comment.

Bicyclists who said dogs pose a hazard squared off with pet owners at two public hearings the Ventura County Parks and Harbor Commission held in June and July. But only one person spoke at a third meeting Wednesday, and she favored allowing dogs.

The commission, which lacked a quorum at the previous meetings, voted 5 to 1 Wednesday to recommend allowing dogs on the trail. “The trail is wide enough and long enough for everyone to enjoy it,” Oak View resident Mary Morris said.

Morris said she has seen 4-H competitors walk their sheep along the rural trail, which, so far, are not mentioned on the signs. Blake Boyle, deputy director of recreation services, said llamas are allowed on the bridle trail, but sheep have not been an issue yet.