Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 11/13/2008

Home

. CASE #:1 OFF..LEASH AREA FOR ALPINE PARK By: Mark Riverblood,Parl<.s Supervisor Bncl<.ground: This case was requested to be pIcteed on November's agenda in order to identifY how the proposed offleash area could be segmented - in the event there is a need to separate Ismail' and 'large' dogs. The attached exhibit shows an additional north/south line which would divide the approximate 4. 8~acre site. It is staff's suggestion however, that monies not be recommended to be set aside for this potentiality - but that if (or when), this new off-leash area is deemed to be a success, that at that time consideration could be given to designate Alpine Park as a 'small' dog area. A different, larger location may be then discussed for large dogs (leaving open the option for dividing Alpine 's area). The follm.vlng is the original discussion relating to the proposed project: Ramsey's park and trail system is valuable for a cross section of the community -- including both active uses, and passive. One very popular activity is dog walking with the pet on a leash, which often utilizes the trail and sidewalk system. However, many owners \LSe parks to allow their dogs to run 01' for training. While City Code requires pets to leashed at all times, it is acknowledged that u number of owners do allow their animals to 'run l in park settings. This is seldom a problem, particularly early in the day, or outside of peak use periods. It is during the evenings when the majority of residents are out for titness walks and parks are the busiest when loose dogs can be inappropriate. Consequently, for several years residents have been requesting that the city create a dog park, or off~leash area to serve their needs. Observations: Aside from dog walking on sidewalks and trails, two locations are far and away the most popular destinations for pet owners - the south half of Rivers' Bend, and Alpine Park. This is in part due to their proximity to Ramsey's urbanized area, which includes housing with smaller lots. Ofthe two parks, Alpine sees even more patrons arriving by auto than Rivers' .Bend. Last fall, \.Itilizing the City's Lawful Gambling Fund program (wherein up to $5,000 is made available to leverage }?mk improvements), outfield fences were added to Alpine's baseball tields. During the evaluation of the proposed homerun fences, it was acknowledged that while there was clear benefit to the baseball program - there was some utility, or flexibility lost relative to the interruption of the large expanse of open turf resulting from the fences. As it ttlt'nS out, the fences may have provided an unintended benefit. 1