Norwich moves to seventh draft of proposed dog ordinance

NORWICH — As the town’s proposed Animal Control Ordinance heads into its seventh revision, many residents continue to oppose a section that would ban off-leash dogs on Huntley Meadows.

For the third time this spring, the Selectboard opted to put off voting on a motion to adopt the new ordinance regulating dogs in town at a meeting last week. But there are indications a final vote could come as soon as next week.

“I think we’re getting towards this spot where everybody has been heard and feels like they’ve gotten something from speaking up,” board member Matt Swett said toward the end of an hour-long discussion at the board’s May 28 meeting.

The ordinance has taken up about an hour in each of the board’s past four meetings, and it will be on the agenda again when the board meets June 11.

The proposal, which would replace the existing ordinance that’s been on the books since 2005, follows Vermont League of Cities and Towns’ model Animal Control Ordinance except for the final section, Section 13, which would require dogs to be leashed on town-owned recreation areas.

Those areas include Barrett Park, Gile Mountain trail, Milton Frye Nature Area, part of Blue Ribbon Connector Trail, town owned Class IV roads converted to trails and the base of Ballard Trail, where the former town pool was located.

Most controversially, the draft as currently written, would ban dogs completely from the marked playing fields at Huntley Meadows while sports are in season and require dog owners to leash their pets at all times on all other parts of the recreation area on Turnpike Road.

Town officials say there have been several incidents over the years of residents getting bitten or knocked over by dogs at Huntley.

“The main focus of the Animal Control Ordinance is public safety,” Selectboard Chairwoman Mary Layton wrote in a memo included in the May 28 meeting packet. “There are on average four biting incidents per year that have been reported to the Police Department. There have been other ongoing incidences of dogs barking, dogs jumping on people, dogs chasing and killing chickens, etc. As one resident put it, ‘In Norwich, why should dogs have more rights than people?’ ”

But during the last month, several dog owners have shared stories with the Selectboard about how letting their dogs run free at Huntley over the years has improved their pets’ lives, and their own.

“As a once single person living in Norwich and working at Dartmouth, I spent many a lunch break quickly walking my dog at Huntley on my short lunch break. It was a way to exercise my pet and meet other people in town,” Becky Munsterer Sabky wrote in an email to the Selectboard, which was included in the May 28 meeting packet. “Now, as a wife and a mother of two, I love bringing the family to Huntley with my dog on Saturday mornings to socialize responsibly with other pets.”

After hearing from dog owners and those who have had negative dog interactions, each board member, except for Vice Chairman Kimo Griggs, wrote a memo outlining their opinions on the ordinance.

Board members, Priscilla Vincent, Swett and Layton all advocated for designated hours when off-leash dogs would be allowed at Huntley Meadows.

In his memo, Swett proposed the ordinance read: “Unleashed dogs are prohibited from Town-Owned recreation areas within the Town of Norwich, unless in a designated, enclosed area or during posted hours at a designated recreation area.”

The seventh revision of the ordinance “may include language about hours,” Layton said in a message to the Valley News on Friday.

However, for some dog lovers, limited off-leash hours wouldn’t be enough.

“Why is someone without a dog more important than someone with a dog?” asked resident Stratton Shook during public comment at Wednesday’s meeting.

Shook argued town officials have only cited anecdotal evidence about why dogs should be leashed at Huntley.

“We’re now writing laws not based on facts,” he said.

When Layton asked Shook to wrap up his comments to give others a chance to speak, Shook kept talking from his seat in the audience.

“You can leave the meeting if you’re going to be rude,” Layton said, and Shook walked out.

Board member Marcia Calloway proposed both in her memo and at the meeting that the town’s attorney review the ordinance before the board votes on it to ensure it does not violate any state statutes. The other four members agreed with her.

Also adding to the controversy around the ordinance is a proposal for a fenced-in dog park at Huntley Meadows.

While town officials thought a dog park would accommodate dog owners who soon may not be able to let their dogs loose at Huntley whenever they wish, the idea has generated significant opposition.

“I worry that if we have an enclosed area at Huntley Meadows, every person with a dog who can’t have their dogs off-leash would come,” resident Lucinda Brown said at the meeting. “We’d be attracting all types of dogs that aren’t part of our community. Importing problem dogs from the Upper Valley could be a slippery slope we don’t want to go down.”

No final decisions about a dog park have been made and there is no language in the draft ordinance mandating the creation of a dog park.

Layton, in a phone interview last week, acknowledged that residents may still be opposed to the next version of the ordinance.

“You know you’ve reached a compromise when everyone’s mad at you,” she said. “… I hope we resolve this soon.”

The next Selectboard meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 11 at 6:30 p.m. in Tracy Hall or on Zoom at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89116638939.

Emma Roth-Wells can be reached at erothwells@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.