LAGUNA BEACH : Plan Would Ban Dogs at Small Parks

Taking what could be considered a nervy step in a city where dogs rate their own “bark park,” the City Council will discuss Tuesday the possibility of banning dogs from small parks and children’s play areas.

The agenda item, put forth by Mayor Ann Christoph and co-signed by Councilwoman Kathleen Blackburn, calls for “endorsing the concept of additional regulations on dogs in city parks to protect the general public and small children.”

It is already illegal to have dogs off leash anywhere in the city except at the dog park, a fenced grassy strip alongside Laguna Canyon Road. Laguna Beach is the only city in Orange County with a park for dogs only. The new measure would force dogs out of some parks.

Although the dog park has been extremely popular, some residents have continued to allow their dogs off leash elsewhere. The city has reacted by cracking down on leash law violators, doubling the fine for such offenses and stepping up enforcement by animal control officers.

The debate on further restrictions is being prompted, Christoph said, by the special problems dogs create in small parks and in children’s play areas. At a recent picnic at the small South Laguna Village Green Park, Christoph said at least three people brought leashed dogs “to do their thing while we were eating lunch” and as young children played in the grass.

“The dogs are urinating on the grass where the kids are rolling around,” she said. “My impression is the dogs are not recreating. They’re brought there to relieve themselves. And when they’re such small parks, it really has an impact.”

A small park would be one with less than half an acre of land, she said. Children’s play areas, which usually include sandboxes and play equipment, are often located within larger parks, such as at Main Beach, Alta Laguna and Moulton Meadows.

If the council were to favor additional restrictions on dogs, the item would be referred to the city’s recreation committee and to the city staff for a report on how to implement such controls.