How much is that WeHo doggie park? The one filled with waggly tails? Well, that will depend on the City Council, which will be presented with five options Monday night for an off-leash dog area in West Hollywood Park ranging from $700,000 to $1.15 million.
The city’s Community Development Department is recommending that the Council choose an option that would cost $750,000 and provide two distinct areas for dogs, both located east of the basketball courts on the north end of the park and adjacent to San Vicente Boulevard.
One of the areas would be for small dogs and the other for larger dogs. All together, the dog area would cover 8,600 square feet in the park, which will be cover about eight acres when the second phase of its redevelopment is completed.
An earlier redevelopment plan presented to the City Council in July did not include an area where dogs could play off leash, but did include play areas for small children. That promoted an objection by Mayor John D’Amico, who complained about what he called the city’s “institutional fetishization of kids.”
“We have 400 kids who live in this city, and we have 30,400 adults who have dogs,” D’Amico said, asking why children were given dedicated park space and dogs weren’t. Children make up roughly five percent of the city’s population of a little more than 34,000 people.
The city conducted a study of options for a dog park and presented its findings to the Council in October. The options the Council will consider Monday night are revisions to those earlier proposals.
The least expensive of the five options would enclose the lawn west of the existing basketball courts and also use the area north of the courts as a dog run. Construction of a dog park in that 7,600 square foot area would cost an estimated $700,000.
The most expensive option would encompass the area east of the basketball courts and the eastern most court itself. The existing concrete basketball court would be demolished and replaced with artificial turf. That $14,250 square foot dog park would cost an estimated $1.15 million.
The dog park and proposed additional parking spaces are the reason for a recommended $4.25 million increase in the $85.8 million budget for the redevelopment.
The Council will consider the proposal at its meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday night at the Council Chambers at 625 N. San Vicente Blvd, south of Santa Monica.
Ask a dog what a park should look like… if they could speak (English) they would say something along the lines of: A big space where I can smell, play, and poop wherever I wish.
Anything above that is human vanity. I think we can lower the price and still have a fantastic dog park. (Man, I wish I was a developer!)
and DOGS 🙂
Hart Park is used by hundreds of people on a daily basis and they just replaced all of the wood chips. Some of us are very happy to have this park, With that said, the city could definitely use 2 more dog parks for the # of apartment/condo dugs who live in WeHo. Especially since green space is becoming a premeium with all of these Mega Over-Developments being constructed and those in the planning stages.
Where are the options? Hart Park is a joke. It is always muddy and too small for both big and small dogs. The bark is disgusting.
I support Option 5.
Residents should OPPOSE the staff recommendation of “MODIFIED OPTION 2”. It’s too small and confines dogs to a narrow space.
Please SUPPORT “OPTION 3 or 5”
Those two options offer a useful and appropriately sized park that can accommodate areas for both large and small dogs in an open space where they can run and chase.
No BARK! Some dogs eat it and it can make them sick. Plus it’s just dirty, especially when wet, and it’s very difficult to find the poop. Grass or plain dirt.
Please come to council on Monday night and repeat your comments…..insist on an appropriately sized, open and useful dog park…..NOT a narrow strip of grass as suggested in the staff report.
The staff recommendation (growl) is NOT what we want and need.
The City already has an off-leash dog park. Enough already.
Hart Park Dog Park is a good size dog park for the neighborhood. It’s big enough so that dog “guardians” (as weho mandates istead of “owners”) can get to their dogs qucikly in case of a fight and to prevent too much injury if any. With that said, usage at West Hollywood Park would be much higher than Hart so it should be at least 3 times the size of Hart with a separate small dog area. The “dog run” idea is not a good one. Dog parks give our best friends the opportunity to socialize with other dogs, chase… Read more »
West Hollywood is one of the most dense cities in the country and more dogs per household at in the top. I welcome the off-leash dog park and the option that affords West Hollywood dog guardians and park users the option on the agenda that allows the most space for this amenity. Its sensible and should be done.
Looking forward to 2015 and the campaign, when Plummer Park come to the table and design plan, it to must have an off-leash dog park.
It’s just amazing to me we spend $86 million dollars on a park…and just now we think to add a dog park. There is absolutely no planning or thought involved with this city or the developers/planners who create these plans. Did the planners include tree’s with our $86 Million park? We better double check the fine print. Tree’s and grass are probably extra.