Something new at West Seattle’s only off-leash area, at Westcrest Park! Thanks to Kevin McMahan for the photos and report:

Aidan McMahan, along with other Scouts from his West Seattle Troop 282, installed three agility structures (Saturday) at Westcrest Dog Park as a part of his Eagle Project.

The structures are now open for business.

Special thanks to Westcrest Off-Leash Area, Coalition for Off-Leash Areas (C.O.L.A.), Alki Lumber, and Seattle Parks for their assistance in making this happen.

(WSB photo)

ORIGINAL REPORT, 12:04 PM: Yes, the no-pets-on-the-beach law is enforced at Alki and other waterfront parks sometimes – and at least one citation recipient is unhappy about it. We took that photo this morning after someone called to tell us about the sign. A first-time violation will cost you $54, according to this list of city fines, which has the reminder that it’s “unlawful to permit any dog to run at large in any park, except in designated off-leash areas, OR unlawful to permit any dog to enter any public beach, swimming area or wading area, pond, fountain, stream, or organized athletic area.” We’re checking to see if Seattle Animal Shelter (aka “animal control”) has any stats on how many tickets it’s issued so far this year.

3:16 PM: Perhaps a coincidence, but while our information request to SAS has not yet been acknowledged, we received this news release from the city minutes ago:

Spring is blossoming and hatching in Seattle, and now is a particularly important time to ensure that immature wildlife have their best opportunity to flourish in the Northwest. Because of this, the Seattle Animal Shelter will be conducting emphasis patrols on all saltwater beaches in the city.

Dogs are not allowed on any of Seattle’s public saltwater beaches, whether leashed or unleashed. This law helps to protect the fragile ecosystem along our shorelines. Marine mammals, such as seal pups who are typically born in April, use the city’s beaches to rest and warm themselves. Shore birds also frequent our beaches. Wildlife that interact with dogs are less likely to reach adulthood.

Uniformed animal services officers will be patrolling city parks with a focus on saltwater beaches and may issue citations to violators.

If you would like to report Seattle beaches where dogs are frequently seen, please submit a service request here. You can also contact the shelter directly by calling 206-386-PETS (7387) or by visiting seattleanimalshelter.org.

3:44 PM: Our request for stats has been answered by Kara Main-Hester at Seattle Animal Shelter:

The Park District team started in 2016. Since the start of the program, they have written 905 violations and conducted 1002 patrols. (Data: 1/1/2016 – 3/31/2017). During that time, they wrote 29 citations at Alki parks (Alki Beach Park + Alki Playground) and 34 at Lincoln Park.

The pink dots are where the city has off-leash dog parks now – in West Seattle, for example, Westcrest Park is the only one. Will more be added – and if so, where? A key step toward deciding that could come next Thursday night, when the Seattle Parks Board discusses, and might vote on, the draft People, Dogs, and Parks Strategic Plan.

You can see documents for the meeting here – including the points that board members are being asked to decide on Thursday night, spelled out in this “decision agenda” memo. It includes proposed changes to the draft plan, and also asks the board to affirm whether new off-leash areas would only be fenced sites – ruling out “leash-optional trails.” And the board will be asked to affirm the plan’s proposed policies for regulating professional dog walkers if they use off-leash areas – with a $100 annual license and requirements for certification if they seek to bring more than three dogs to an OLA after the first two years following passage of the plan.

Ahead of next Thursday’s meeting, the group Citizens for Off-Leash Areas has been circulating a survey asking for more suggestions for “pilot” off-leash spots – find it here. The survey’s introduction says Seattle Parks asked the group to come up with more possible locations. We asked Parks if that was indeed how they were soliciting site suggestions, rather than putting out a call to the public. Spokesperson Christina Hirsch replied:

When the final People, Dogs and Parks Plan is released in March, it will outline a process for the public to submit applications for off-leash locations. This process will be open to all, including groups and individual residents. Seattle Parks and Recreation will form a committee to review the applications and the Superintendent will make the final decision. This process will go through a public involvement process and community outreach.

COLA has worked in collaboration with SPR during the Off-Leash Area Master Plan process. COLA came to SPR with a list of off-leash location recommendations and we suggested that they develop a more comprehensive and geographically balanced list. It appears they are developing that revised list by soliciting community feedback.

COLA’s recommendations will go along with submissions from the community application process.

In the meantime, Thursday night’s board meeting considering the strategic plan is open to the public – 6:30 pm January 12th, at Parks HQ downtown (100 Dexter Ave. N.).

One last reminder in case this is an issue about which you feel strongly: Tomorrow night is the public hearing for the draft citywide People, Dogs, and Parks Strategic Plan. The citywide Board of Park Commissioners is presiding over the public hearing, 6:30 pm at Miller Community Center on Capitol Hill (330 19th Ave. E.). Here are the details, as first published in August on the Parks Department’s Parkways website; we first wrote about the draft plan when it was made public back in June, including the improvements it recommends for West Seattle’s only off-leash park, Westcrest Park in Highland Park.

P.S. If you can’t make it to the public hearing, you can comment via e-mail – send your thoughts to Rachel.Acosta@Seattle.Gov by October 14th.

(WSB file photo, Westcrest Off-Leash Area)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Months later than first promised, the draft plan for Seattle Parks‘ off-leash areas is finally out today. See it here.

The process leading to this has been under way for almost a year – we mentioned a survey last July, and several local community councils included discussions at their meetings earlier this year.

We’ve just taken a quick read through the draft plan, and here are some of the points:

*No specific new off-leash areas are proposed

*A process for adding new OLAs “gradually” is outlined

*In the meantime, the city proposes spending up to $1.3 million to improve the 14 existing OLAs, through funding from the voter-approved Park District

Here’s the outline of the process suggested for adding new OLAs:

For each proposed OLA, except those involving private developers, SPR will convene a committee including dog advocates, environmental advocates, a veterinarian or animal behaviorist, community members, and SPR staff to recommend to the Superintendent whether the proposed OLA should move forward.

1 Adding OLAs through new park/redevelopment processes. SPR will specifically include OLAs as an element
for consideration in the planning process when SPR embarks on the development or redevelopment process
for new and existing parks, along with any other suggested use that arises during the process.

2 As SPR develops land-banked park sites, SPR will examine their use for new OLAs as part of the park
development process.

3 SPR will continue to consider adding new OLAs by request of the community, whether through
Neighborhood Matching Fund processes or other community processes.

4 Support groups such as COLA in developing OLAs on non-park public land suitable for OLAs, by convening
the committee described above and assisting with design.

5 Encourage groups like COLA to work with private property owners to provide OLAs on unused property.

6 Encourage private developers, through the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspection, to include
OLAs as part of prospective developments.

There will still remain the issue of development costs for any of these alternatives, but those can be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

The document says adding a one-acre off-leash area is estimated to cost just under $1 million.

As for the nature of improvements/additions, the draft plan includes these recommendations:

Based on the potential for conflict between leashed and unleashed dogs and between dogs and other park activities, limited enforcement resources, and feedback from other jurisdictions, SPR recommends continuing to offer fenced OLAs only.

*Based on the potential for conflict between leashed and unleashed dogs and between dogs and other trail users, the associated need for more maintenance and enforcement and the potential for disturbing animal and bird habitat, SPR does not recommend designated leash-optional trails.

*Based on the protection of many of Seattle’s beaches by the Marine Reserves Rule and the potential for disturbing animal, marine and bird habitat, SPR recommends against establishing any more OLAs with beach access.

We’re still reading through the rest of the plan and will add anything else of note in the next hour or so (again, see the full draft plan here). Geographically, it notes that a “small area of (north West Seattle)” is one of the parts of the city that does NOT have an off-leash area within 2.5 miles; West Seattle’s one and only OLA is at Westcrest Park in Highland Park, opened in 1997 and described in the draft plan as the second-busiest off-leash area in the city.

The Westcrest analysis starts on page 145 of the report and recommends these improvements:

1. Reinstall ADA parking sign and ADA path in small and shy dog area.
2. Upgrade fencing to protect natural areas.
3. Replace woodchips with other surfacing and fill in ruts.
4. Restore eroded slope.
5. Pave service road from the north lot entrance to the inside dumpster.

WHAT’S NEXT: The process for commenting on the draft plan is outlined here. A public hearing is set for July 28th in Northgate (that same link has full details), and the Seattle Parks Board is scheduled to vote at its September 8th meeting. Parks Superintendent Jesús Aguirre has the final say on the plan.

The city’s moving toward a new proposal for dogs in Seattle parks – and this Thursday night, the Seattle Parks Board of Commissioners will hear how Parks leadership is leaning.

That briefing document prepared for the Parks Board hints at what might be in the proposed People, Dogs, and Parks Strategic Plan, due out soon for public comment. It’s been a subject of discussion in several community meetings we’ve covered recently, starting with the Delridge District Council‘s meeting last November.

For one, the document says Superintendent Jesús Aguirre is NOT expected to call for “unfenced, (certain) hours-only” offleash periods in parks. It also says he’ll recommend limiting the number of dogs that can be brought to a park to three per person. And he’ll recommend that development of additional off-leash areas go “through regular new park development and/or existing park redevelopment processes.”

One more note from the briefing paper: “Beginning this month, there will be a two-person team, one Animal Control staff and one Parks and
Recreation staff, patrolling parks with the sole purpose of enforcing leash and scoop laws.”

The draft plan is now expected to be made public next month, with public meetings in April and May, and a final plan in June. Meantime, the board meeting this Thursday starts at 6:30 pm at Parks HQ downtown (100 Dexter Ave. N.).