Turf vs. stone dust; one enclosure or two?
Neighbors can’t agree on what new dog park will look like
STAMFORD — A dog park in North Stamford is getting closer to becoming a reality, but it’s unlikely the final product will appeal to everyone.
During a second public hearing on a proposed dog area in Scofieldtown Park this week, residents voiced concerns about almost every aspect of the proposal, from the location and size to the materials and amenities within.
By the end of the meeting, the only thing most people seemed to agree on was that the park should have a fence, gates and water.
No vote was taken by the Parks and Recreation Commission, which hosted the meeting, since not all members were present. The proposal will be discussed at the body’s next meeting in February, where a vote could be taken to move forward with the plan.
During the first public hearing in October, some residents expressed concerns about the impact on wildlife of the dog play area, since it was originally placed close to a meadow on the property.
On Wednesday, a new proposal was presented, which put the park nearer the existing tennis courts and farther away from the meadow.
Commission chair Melanie Hollas said members investigated the wildlife impacts of the park after residents voiced concerns, including speaking to Patrick Dugan, a bird expert with the Cove Island Wildlife Sanctuary. According to Hollas, Dugan said he was not concerned about birds being impacted by any dogs in the dog park if there was a fence. He was more concerned about the impact of off-leash dogs since migrating birds often nest in the meadow, she said.
Aris Stalis of design firm Aris Land Studio presented two possibilities for the future dog park: one with two separate and unattached locations for small and big dogs, respectively, and another that brought the two areas next to each other.
In the first scenario, the small dog park was 5,300 square feet, while in the second option, it shrank to 4,500 square feet.
In both instances, the large dog park area was 14,300 square feet.
Many residents preferred the second option, but went even further, suggesting that the en
tire park should be open to dogs of all sizes.
“If cost is an issue and you want to save some money, just make one dog park,” said resident Gary Lesowitz.
The city has about $150,000 available for the dog park.
Stalis said having two dog parks to accommodate small and large canines is an industry standard, but he added, “We’re going to leave it up to the city and their residents.”
Stalis also showed details of what the dog play areas could look like. In one image, the enclosure included mounds built with synthetic turf, a fenced-in training area, open running area and a splash pad.
Some residents said the amenities were excessive.
“I have never seen such ideas for a dog park,” said Alan Becker. “You’ve designed a child’s amusement park with splash pads, mounds, training areas.”
Becker and others also argued that the dog park should be a grass field, not stone dust, as is being proposed.
Stalis said he would like to have turf as the surface, but the size of the proposed park would likely result in it being torn up quickly.
“I’d love to have turf, but when you have a lot of intensive activity on a small area, it’s much more likely to just turn to mud,” he said, later adding, “Stone dust has been really kind of touted as the best material in dog parks.”
Geraldine Nuzzo, who lives across the street from the park, expressed concerns that the dog park would end up being bare bones, and not a positive addition to the area.
“I just think that the public is being fooled by the idea of volunteers taking care of this,” she said. “I think it’s being fooled by how nice it’s going to look.”
Mariia Simanov, of nearby Hannahs Road, said she supports the park, especially since many of her neighbors are dog owners and they said they feel they have few places to go to walk their pets.
“It will bring life to the park. It will be very nice for the community,” she said.