Council to Consider Dog Ban in Play Areas

Reviving a proposal quashed by pet owners two years ago, the City Council on Tuesday will consider banning dogs from play areas.

In early 1994, city leaders backed off from a plan to keep canines from small parks and playgrounds after dog owners protested. The issue had been raised by then-Councilwoman Ann Christoph, who cited complaints about dogs relieving themselves in places where children play.

Earlier this year, the city’s Recreation Committee held a series of public hearings on the health and safety implications of allowing dogs in areas frequented by children.

As a result, the city staff and Recreation Committee are recommending that the council ban dogs from tot lots and playgrounds.

“My staff is constantly cleaning up dog messes in the sandy area because people don’t clean up after them,” said Ron Lutz, who supervises the playground staff at Moulton Meadows and Alta Laguna parks.

“If you ban the dogs from the area, you hope you eliminate the problem,” Lutz said.

Any time a dog-related issue comes before the council, residents of Laguna Beach, which was the first Orange County city to designate a park especially for dogs, turn out to express their support of pooches.

The biggest crowd at a council meeting was several years ago, officials said, when the city was considering banning dogs from its beaches.

The committee is also asking the council to other possibilities, such as installing “poop scoop dispensers” and trash cans at some city parks, raising dog registration fees and increasing fines for unlicensed dogs.