PORT ANGELES — The idea of creating an off-leash dog area at Charles R. Willson Park may be dead in its tracks.
After meeting with nine people, mostly neighbors opposed to the idea, and Deputy Recreation Director Richard Bonine on Friday morning, Deputy Mayor Betsy Wharton said any changes to the use of the park are on hold until a more accommodating plan can be developed.
“We are trying to balance the needs of the greater community with the needs of the residents of the small neighborhood,” she said.
The City Council supported a proposal from Bonine to transform roughly half of the 1-acre park at 511 W. Seventh St. into a dog park with volunteer labor and funds in a 4-2 vote Tuesday.
Wharton, who voted for the proposal, was joined by City Council member Cherie Kidd, who voted against it, at the meeting Friday.
Resident Larry Bennett stormed out of the council meeting after the vote.
The meeting Friday was initially only going to be between Bennett, his wife, Laureen, Wharton and Kidd.
But Bennett and his wife were joined by seven neighbors who also opposed to the idea.
Bennett, who owns a rental home that borders the park and lives on the other side of the Tumwater Creek valley, said he has collected 70 signatures against creating an off-leash dog area at the park.
Concerns expressed at the meeting included safety for children, issues between neighborhood dogs and dogs at the park and the inevitable dog droppings.
Jeannette Dewater, a resident of one of the two homes adjacent to the park, said she is concerned that dogs would keep her 2-month-old daughter awake along with the elderly woman who also lives there. Dewater added that the fence that borders the home is low enough for a dog to jump over.
Bennett, who rents the home to Dewater, said a dog park would deter people from renting it and lower its property value.
A separate meeting on the dog park proposal July 8 was attended by about 18 people. Almost all voiced support for the idea.
Wharton said the dog park idea isn’t dead if the nearby residents that are opposed to it can reach a compromise with the city and potential park sponsors.
If a compromise can’t be reached, then it may be up to the neighbors themselves to sponsor and maintain the park.
Wharton said at the Friday meeting that the city can’t afford to maintain it.
“The city is not in a position to maintain all the parks that we have here,” she said.
“The other question is: What else?
“If someone has an idea, then it’s something to march toward.”
Kidd also encouraged the neighbors to come up with their own plan for the park.
“What is the best and highest use?” she asked.
“It’s your neighborhood. We want to know how you feel.”
Some of the opponents at the Friday meeting were receptive to a compromise, but others, such as Robert Nichols, don’t want to give up any of the park to dogs.
“Dogs don’t pay taxes. Dogs aren’t citizens,” said Nichols, who lives across the street.
Laureen Bennett said she could accept an off-leash dog area if it was placed on the west side of the park, away from her rental home, and happened along with other recreation improvements on the east side.
Bonine’s proposal involved putting up new fencing to create an area for small and large dogs on the west end of the park. It would mean removing the T-ball backstop and replacing the slide and swing set with a new play set that the city of Port Angeles has in storage. The basketball hoop would remain.
It would also involve a few dog park proponents willing to maintain the park with their labor and $3,000 in pledged donations.
Although the City Council endorsed the idea, Wharton said it doesn’t mean that a dog park has to be created or that any of the details are set in stone.
“If there is a compromise possible, then the proponents of a dog park can think about that. And the neighbors might come forward with a different idea, and we’ll just continue to work with both of them,” she said.
“I think it’s clear that it would be nice to have a dog park somewhere in the city.
“It’s also important that we figure out what the future use of Charles Willson Park is.”
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
