The dog wars are happening all over the Bay Area and Piedmont is no exception. Dogs are allowed off-leash in portions of Piedmont parks but many dog owners are letting them run free in areas where they are not allowed. The result is a warning for first-timers and eventually a fine of $100.
Dracena Park was once a hot spot for off-leash scofflaws, but Piedmont Police Department Captain Chris Monahan says they are now getting calls about people using the grassy areas in Piedmont Park. “I don’t know if our increased efforts in Dracena (Park) have forced people to the main parks. We were getting regular complaints in Dracena so we stepped up our efforts in Dracena. Now we’ve started getting calls about people who use the main park.”
Said Piedmont Parks and Projects Manager Nancy Kent, “I think we have more dogs and dog owners and we have a real need for people before work and after work to congregate with their dogs, socialize, enjoy being outside. That’s a really important social activity that we know dog owners want to have. I would say we don’t have an ideal place for that in our city. All of our off-leash areas are overlaid on existing parks.”
No off-leash dogs allowed on grassy areas of parks
Dog owners can run their dogs off-leash in all of Blair Park, through Piedmont Park along the creek, portions of Dracena Park and in the fenced off-leash area in Linda Park. One key is that dogs aren’t allowed to run free on the grass in the parks. That’s because the city can’t afford to rebuild the grass after dogs tear it up. “If there is grass, no dogs are allowed,” Captain Monahan said.
Added Kent, “I totally understand the desire to run a dog on lawn. However, we as a city cannot provide that service to off-leash dog owners. If you desire to run your dog on nice grass, you have to find some other space. We can’t manage lawn and dogs and passive and active recreation at the same time.”
We’re getting to that time when the sod doesn’t dry out as quickly,” Kent said. ” I’m walking on this lawn and it’s kind of wet, it’s kind of soggy. When you run dogs on wet, soggy lawn, it gets chewed up. When it goes, it’s not coming back.” Kent said she owns a Labrador Retriever that loves to run and she understands the needs of dog owners.
Another problem is the poop. Many dog owners are conscientious and pick up after their dogs, but that’s not enough if a dog is relieving itself on a field where children play. “The coaches were calling us and saying our kids are running into dog poop,” Kent said.
Police will respond to complaints, either with an officer or a Community Service Officer (CSO). Violators will usually get a warning but if someone is a repeat offender, they will be cited and fined $100.
Cities all over the Bay Area have been fighting over dogs for years. A renovation of Albany Beach was delayed for a year because the original Environmental Impact Report didn’t address the damage done by off-leash dogs on the beach. Dogs are prohibited from being off-leash on state beach property.
Kent said she occasionally comes across people running their dogs off-leash in areas where it’s prohibited. She said one time, she approached a woman who was paying attention to her phone, not her dog. “I go up to her and say her dog needs to be on leash,” Kent said. “She says, ‘My dog is on-leash.’ The dog is dragging the leash.”
Dogs are required to be licensed in Piedmont. A second license is required to run a dog off-leash in the legal areas. The city holds events, such as Bark in the Park, where the laws are promoted and explained. Signs are posted in the parks. Although, she noted, not everybody pays attention. One day, she saw a man with a dog and pointed out the sign. The man said he hadn’t noticed. The next day, he was back with his dog. “We gave him a citation,” Kent said.
She added, “We’re working really hard to get out there. I think we need our dog owners to understand that these rules were made through a process [via] the parks commission, the city council, and we have them in our ordinance. We’re managing them for all people, not just off-leash people.”
Kent said she would love to design an off-leash dog park from scratch if Piedmont had a new space for her to do so. “An ideal off-leash park is fenced, it’s often divided into small dogs and large dogs, it has a surface where dogs can run (wood chips, sand), none of our off-leash areas except for Linda Park are fenced,” she said.
In the meantime, Kent said she is continuing to try to spread the word. There’s only so much the police and CSOs can do about the complaints. “Short of stationing somebody in every park 24 hours a day were not going to have complete compliance,” Captain Monahan said. “That’s where our public outreach comes from. We’re trying to get people informed of the law. Just to help educate people.”
Kent said, “There are a lot of really great dog owners in our city. And there are a lot of really considerate people out there that are doing the right things with their dogs. The ones that get the most attention are the people that aren’t following the rules. Many of the reasons why our parks look as good as they do is because so many of our park users use the parks appropriately. They pick up their trash, they don’t cut down shrubs or trees, they stay on the
paths. All of those things contribute to our great looking parks. It’s just that the dogs have the potential to do the most damage. That’s where it gets hard.”
The city should know if there are more dog owners as it has license data but there should be no question that dog ownership increased during the pandemic. As I recall, the off-leash offense was lowered from a felony to a misdemeanor so it could be more readily enforced. Perhaps doing that at parks other than Dracena will reduce violations.
The increase in resident dog owners does point out the need for more off-leash areas in town. Some cities do manage lawn areas for off-leash dog use – https://www.belmont.gov/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/188/
As with pickleball, maybe it’s time for City Hall to apply the “best use” principle to lawn areas around town and allow off-leash use for limited hours.
Glad to hear this is finally becoming a priority. My leashed dog got mauled on the sidewalk near Dracaena by a neighbor walking three large dogs unleashed and out of his control, resulting in a thousand-dollar vet bill. PPD said they wouldn’t cite.
I’ve lived 1 block away from Crocker Park since 2012. Dog poop on the lawn has become a problem in the past 2 years. My kids and I are stepping in poop often while playing on the lawn. Before we play I walk around to look for poo, and have found a few to pick up each month. I see too many dog owners on their smartphones while their dogs romp around the park. Off leash dogs + owner focusing on smartphones = poop on someone else’s shoe.
I try and leave my phone at home while playing with my kids, but I now need to bring my phone when I ask dog owners to follow the rules but the owner insists it’s not a problem and their dog only poops at home. Many owners have blamed the city for not having enough poop bags at the parks. I feel like I have to call the police now so that I can use the lawn without actively looking for dog poop.
My family has a large dog, so we understand the need to exercise dogs. I’d be happy for there to be a public process that lets the community weigh in on establishing new off-leash space.