Temporary dog park planned
Faced with a six-figure cost estimate to build a permanent off-leash dog parks at Dale Meadows Sports Complex, Summerland council opted Monday to instead buy more time until planning work is completed at its preferred location.
Council voted unanimously to put up a temporary off-leash park for small dogs at Dale Meadows and run it as a pilot project for one year to help gauge usage.
Owners of large dogs can continue to exercise their animals in designated off-leash areas at Peach Orchard and Sun-Oka beaches
While councillors expressed support for continuing with the years-long process of planning and building new off-leash parks in the community, they also indicated their preferred location is the Summerland Rodeo Grounds.
“There’s a lot of land up there that I think we could utilize, and I don’t think the (potential for) conflict is as big” as in some other areas, said Coun. Marty Van Alphen.
However, creation of a master plan for the rodeo grounds is scheduled for 2022 and councillors are reluctant to do anything there until that guiding document is complete.
And, echoing the concerns of staff, councillors are also reluctant to tinker with the existing uses of Dale Meadows, so they rejected four other options for dog parks at the site with that carried cost estimates ranging from $132,000 to $260,000.
“I just can’t get my head around the cost of putting in a dog park there. It’s just beyond the pale,” said Coun. Doug Holmes.
The chosen option of a single off-leash park for small dogs immediately east of the parking lot at Dale Meadows carries with it an estimated cost of $30,000 for fencing that can be taken down and reused.
New off-leash parks have been in the works since they were recommended as part of the 2018 Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Council was set in February 2020 to approve a new facility at Peach Orchard Beach, but backed out due to neighbours’ concerns, prompting a hunt for alternate sites.
Other locations that have since been considered, and discarded, include a ball diamond at Living Memorial Park on Snow Avenue, a highway easement on Fosberry Avenue, and a church parking lot on Julia Street.
In advance of council’s decision Monday, a member of the Summerland Dog Owners Association expressed frustration with the process to date.
“As a resident and dog owner myself, it is disheartening to feel the district does not understand us or our needs, and the only advocates fighting for a safe and usable design are us, the users,” said Robert Hacking.
“Worse, there’s a persistent lack of empathy and a motivation to only build as little park as necessary rather than one that would actually serve users’ needs.”