Dog Park Proposed in Sepulveda Basin

Park department officials have announced their intention to create an off-leash dog park in the 1,200-acre Sepulveda Basin.

The cost of the two-acre area, estimated at about $60,000, would be split between private sponsors, such as pet food companies, and the city, parks officials said at a users committee meeting Thursday. The site proposed for the park is a vacant, weedy lot between the National Guard Armory and a day-care center on Victory Boulevard just west of Balboa Boulevard.

Committee members approved of the park, but all 30 in attendance objected to the location. Some noted that the entrance to the existing parking lot there is narrow. Others cited environmental concerns, noting that noise from the dog park could disturb migratory waterfowl that stop to rest in preserves located nearby.

They suggested another spot, farther east on Victory, near a driving range and a parks department building.

City officials appeared disheartened at the prospect of revising their plans and said it would take time to conduct studies of the alternative site.

But it was a victory for them that the dog park found any support at all.

Previous proposals for such parks in Los Angeles have met with fierce opposition from those who oppose designating parkland for use by animals and therefore reducing its usefulness to humans without pets. Of the city’s 300 park facilities, only one has an approved dog park--the small, secluded Laurel Canyon Park on Mulholland Drive.

A citizen-led drive last month to open a new dog park at Silver Lake Recreation Center was resisted by some residents who feared that babies would be mauled by unleashed canines and that dog-borne diseases would be contracted by humans using the park. Others complained about odors from dog feces and the spread of fleas.

The parks department ultimately decided to establish the Silver Lake dog park as a one-year pilot project.

Eric Rose, a spokesman for Councilwoman Laura Chick, who represents the area, said the proposed dog park in the Sepulveda Basin would be totally fenced-in, landscaped and located “at least 1,000 yards away from the nearest residence.”

Jim Andervich, assistant general manager for the parks department, said he is negotiating with several pet food companies to have them help pay for the park in exchange for letting them use the space for occasional promotions, Andervich said.

“But now we know the people don’t like our first choice for the park,” Andervich said. “We’ll take another look at it.”