Residents bringing their dogs to San Anselmo’s parks might soon have some new rules to follow.
The Parks and Recreation Commission reviewed the regulations, which have not been examined in more than a decade, at its meeting Tuesday night. Mattie O’Grady, the town’s community services director, said the main issue is the dog use policy at Memorial Park.
The regulations prohibit off-leash dogs at Memorial Park in the picnic, upper lawn or playground areas, or on the fields during organized sports activities. But they are allowed before 8 a.m. Monday through Friday, before 9 a.m Saturday and Sunday and one hour before sunset.
“So it’s kind of all over the place,” O’Grady said. “I think it makes it kind of hard for people to really wrap their minds around.”
At Robson-Harrington Park, dogs are permitted only if leashed, but that is not a common practice there, O’Grady said.
O’Grady said part of the confusion could be because of unclear signage, which she said the town needs to work on. She said she spoke with police and fire officials in Larkspur, Corte Madera and Mill Valley to get a “full picture” of how they handle dogs at parks.
Larkspur has a one-year pilot program that will allow dogs from sunrise until 10 a.m., while Corte Madera and Mill Valley do not allow off-leash dogs in parks at all, O’Grady said. Police consider dog rules difficult to enforce, she said.
“They’ve got people running away from them at parks and running as fast as they can out of there,” O’Grady said.
The commission asked staff last fall to prepare an overview of park rules, specifically relating to dogs. The rules were last updated in 2010 and 2011 after complaints from residents led to a rule change allowing off-leash dogs at certain times at Memorial Park but prohibiting off-leash dogs at Robson-Harrington Park.
“The difficulty with these rules, frankly, is enforcement, and that’s the problem for all the towns,” said Rod Kerr, a commissioner. “The police have it as low priority, which is understandable. There are community service personnel that are sometimes available to help with enforcement, but that’s the primary issue.”
There is a dog park near Memorial Park, but O’Grady said it is effected by rain and mud in the winter, and some people prefer grass over the wood chips there. Kerr said the challenge will be making the off-leash rules clear so there is no confusion, and getting staff who can enforce the rules.
“I think one of the most important pieces here is maybe having this discussion with community engagement officers, because if there isn’t the capacity and if it’s not a priority, then it’s a moot point,” said Ivy Tzur, a commissioner. “Without their input and thoughts on it, I think it would be hard for us to make a recommendation.”
Commissioner Cat Austin agreed.
“This may be opening up the hornets’ nest, but I’d like to talk to some of the dog people and get their thoughts,” Austin said. “Is it just because they aren’t clear about the rules, when the times are? If that’s the case, we can make it clearer.”
Commissioners Carolyn Morris and Patrick Stallone were absent from the meeting.
The commission will revisit the park rules at a meeting in February.
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