CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — City officials have now heard from other communities where dog parks prove to be a big draw — as well as environmentally safe, as one local veterinarian noted.
Council’s Planning and Development Committee held a second public hearing Nov. 6, with representatives from Beachwood, Bratenahl and South Euclid invited to share their overwhelmingly positive experiences.
While there has been some “flack” from Beachwood residents on the use of key fobs and a requirement for annual updates of immunization records, Barkwood dog park provides the most recent success story.
An annual membership fee of $50 basically covers the cost of the key fobs, which then automatically shut off in a year’s time, at least until a dog’s shot records can be verified.
Along with their canine sidekicks, there are about 500 Barkwood members in the city of 14,000 since the dog park opened in the fall of 2019.
“It caught on like wildfire because dog owners are very passionate,” noted former Beachwood City Councilwoman Barbara Janovitz.
She brought forward legislation similar to what Cleveland Heights Council Vice President Davida Russell has been proposing for over a year now.
“We wanted to bring dog owners together from across the city, not just in individual neighborhoods,” Janovitz added.
Last year, Russell succeeded in getting an ordinance passed allowing dogs on leashes in all Cleveland Heights city parks — not just Cain Park, as had been the case for the previous decade.
As it stands now, the city would expect to pay about $170,000 for construction of the dog park, along with about $15,000 for a landscape architect to design it.
Beachwood paid about $160,000 for Barkwood, with city Recreation Manager Frank Vicchiarelli noting that the Public Works Department did most of the installation along the median park trail on Shaker Boulevard east of Richmond Road.
At 22,275 square feet, Barkwood measures about half an acre, divided into two sections about 120 feet wide and 135 feet long — one for smaller and the other for larger dogs.
In creating a year-round environment, Beachwood went with artificial pet turf, which Janovitz called a good investment, in terms of being “pound-wise rather than penny-foolish.”
“With turf, it costs more up front, but the ongoing cost and upkeep is minimal,” she added, with Vicchiarelli also recommending cameras on site.
FIDO’s Park
Cleveland Heights already has cameras installed or on the way at two parks under consideration, Cumberland and Denison.
However Denison would be right across the street from South Euclid’s off-leash compound in Quarry Park.
After it opened in 2006, Cleveland Heights city officials graciously brought over some dog waste bags needed in South Euclid.
This was because so many Cleveland Heights residents were crossing the border to use the neighboring dog park, which has no membership requirement.
South Euclid Parks and Recreation Director Daniel Subwick called it a volunteer-led grassroots effort led by a group known as “Friends of the Ideal Dog-park, Off-Leash (FIDO),” who raised about $220,000.
In 2011, the FIDO nonprofit turned the dog park assets over to One South Euclid, the city’s community development corporation (CDC).
More recently, South Euclid secured a Cuyahoga County Community Development Supplemental Grant (CDSG) to replace the fence and put in a new layer of stone aggregate surface.
At that point, “the stone aggregate was all but gone and it was very muddy,” Subwick said, adding that the chain link fence was replaced with wood and wiring to keep the dogs from getting out.
The grant of up to $50,000 provided for additional signage, improved agility equipment and a new water feature for the small and large dog areas.
As for the stone surface, “most people like it,” Subwick said. “It drains well, is not muddy and it’s easy on the dog’s paws, because we’re just talking about small construction stone.”
There is no electricity nearby to power a secured fencing system and disturbances have been relatively low over the years.
While dog vaccinations are required, it’s done “on the honor system, because registering them would otherwise be a bureaucratic nightmare,” Subwick said.
If it turns out that police are called to the park and they find out a dog’s shots aren’t up to date, the owner likely has “bigger issues than that” from that point on, he added.
Seasoned veteran
Bratenahl Mayor Keith Benjamin has overseen the opening of two dog parks, starting with Lakewood, the first in the entire region and where he worked in the early 2000s.
Then there’s South Euclid, where Benjamin still serves as the city’s community services director.
Now, he’s involved with his third, although Bratenahl’s dog park has been there for at least 15 years, before he joined village council.
At about an acre, it’s a larger, passive park with natural grass and a lot of trees for shade. Though it can get muddy, there are still residents who bring their dogs to the park.
Benjamin agreed there’s much to be said for “residents getting to know one another. It’s a great way to bring people together, like parents taking kids to the playground.”
In Bratenahl, there’s water to drink and a hose available to clean off paws.
Like Lakewood and South Euclid, Bratenahl is also open to any resident, although there has been some discussion of going to a key fob system.
At the same time, the Bratenahl dog park does not have an immediate electrical hookup available.
But it is relatively close to some bordering homes on Lake Shore Boulevard, where the village gets a few noise complaints.
Back in South Euclid, Benjamin noted that any prior issues with youths in Quarry Park went away with the arrival of the dog park “because there’s almost always an adult present.”
Benjamin also commended FIDO, saying “you couldn’t do that today — it would be much more expensive to do now than when we were raising those funds in 2005.”
By village ordinance in Bratenahl, dogs must be registered with the county and immunized with all their vaccines.
“If there’s a dog bite with no record of shots, we can take some legal action,” Benjamin said.
Seasoned veterinarian
Cleveland Heights council members also heard from Dr. Scott Smith, co-owner of the Oak Tree Veterinary Hospital on South Taylor Road.
He reinforced the importance of pet vaccinations and recommended some tracking of dogs’ behavior and whether or not they may have aggressive tendencies.
That may be a bigger concern than environmental effects caused by a dog park, including potential groundwater impacts — one of the issues raised at the first public hearing in May.
Smith said that any widespread transmission of dog urine into groundwater would be “highly unusual.”
“Anytime dogs congregate in an area, the risks to residents and to the dogs themselves really comes from unvaccinated or unhealthy dogs,” Smith said.
For those reasons, “some immunization requirements are vital,” Smith said, with many shots that are combined.
In transmitting disease, “dogs generally are not a problem if they are vaccinated,” Smith said.
It’s much more of an issue with skunks, opossum, raccoons and deer — all of which can be found in the city’s parks.
“Wildlife spreads diseases like Lyme disease, leptospirosis and mites,” Smith added, noting that vaccinations and medications exist and should be strongly encouraged, if not required.
“Parasite prevention is also important, especially with organic material like soil and grass and water,” Smith said.
For that reason, Scott thinks synthetic turf would be a good idea.
With Lyme disease spread by deer ticks, Smith believes that vaccination — combined with tick prevention measures — should also be required.
“I can guarantee that white-tailed deer will investigate these areas, even if there’s a fence,” Smith said. “They will be attracted to the water.”
He also feels that Cleveland Heights residents and their dogs will be attracted to a dog park of their own.
“Most dog encounters are from someone’s yard to a dog being walked on a leash down the sidewalk,” Smith said.
A dog park makes for a better experience, Smith said, pointing to commentary from Beachwood officials that local realtors now advertise Barkwood as a local amenity.
“In another added benefit, if you’re enhancing a dog’s life, you’re enhancing the life of the whole family and community,” Smith said.
Those benefits of having a pet extend to senior citizens as well, Russell added.
“Healthy pets keep family members healthy,” Smith said. “I think that’s the most important part about the dog park.”
If the city moves forward with the dog park, it will be the only public space in town for residents to have their dogs off-leash.
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