Parks » Off-Leash Dog Areas

Off-Leash Dog Regulation Discussions 2001-2021

Timeline of Off-Leash Dog Discussions by City Council and Parks & Recreation Advisory Board

 2001

  • City Council approved Council Bill No.36, Ordinance No. 3, Series of 2001 an Ordinance amending the Title 7, Chapter 1A of the Englewood Municipal Code 2000, pertaining to dogs and cats. This Bill made it unlawful for a dog to be off-leash running at large.

2002

  • January 2002 – City Council approved a one-year pilot program allowing off-leash privileges at five Englewood parks: Bates-Logan, Jason, Duncan, Centennial, and the Northwest Greenbelt area. (City Council approved Resolution No. 4, Series of 2002 establishing a Pilot Park Program for off-leash dogs).
  • February 2002 – Englewood’s leash law went into effect and the five off-leash dog parks were open to the public.
  • August 2002 – Staff reported off-leash areas being used and the system seemed to be working. Englewood Code Enforcement reported a decrease in leash violations over the first six months. There were very few complaints and dog owners seem to be satisfied with the program.
  • December 2002 – Minimal complaints from the community and relatively low number of leash law violations have been recorded. The recommendation at this time was to continue the program on a permanent basis with continued monitoring on statistics and community feedback.
  • On December 30, 2002, staff recommended the pilot program be retained on a permanent basis for the 5 off-leash parks (Jason, Northwest, Bates Logan Duncan, Centennial).

2003

  • January 2003 – Parks and Recreation Commission members reviewed the dog parks pilot program for the past twelve months and discussed comments and complaints that had arisen from the implementation of the program. After lengthy discussion, a motion was made and seconded recommending that City Council make the Dog Park Pilot Program a permanent feature of the leash law.
  • January 2003 – Englewood residents told Council that dog owners and their dogs were taking over Bates-Logan Park, which created much debate between park attendees and dog owners.
  • October 2003-  Off-leash privileges revoked by City Council for Bates Logan Park.
  • November 2003 – The Off-Leash Task Force was formed to research the possibility of establishing a dog park in Englewood, where that would be located, and what improvements would be needed to accommodate dogs and their owners as well as ways to fund improvements, promote responsible dog ownership, and ways to educate the general public.

2004 

  • A presentation regarding unsatisfactory turf conditions related to off-leash at Jason Park was presented to council by the Director of Parks and Recreation. 
  • July 2004 – Off -Leash Task Force prepared a final report recommending that City Council consider Belleview Park Nature Area, Centennial Park (north side), and Cushing Park (northeast corner) for dog parks. Belleview Park Nature Area was chosen as the location for the dog park. 

2006

  • June 2006 – A fenced in dog park named Canine Corral was built in the Belleview Park Nature Area and Englewood Unleashed was established. Englewood Unleashed is a 501c3 organization dedicated to supporting off-leash dog privileges at designated parks within the City of Englewood. Englewood Unleashed has a mission statement as follows: “To work with, aid, and assist the City by raising funds and providing volunteer support to improve and better maintain the off-leash parks in Englewood and to receive, invest, and use funds to facilitate health, safety, maintenance, and improvement projects at off-leash parks in Englewood.”
  • June 2006 – A cooperative agreement between Englewood Unleashed and the City of Englewood was approved. Roles and responsibilities of each party are recorded in this cooperative agreement.

 2009

  • July 14-- After numerous complaints from residents regarding off leash at Jason Park, staff presented possible solutions for off-leash at Jason Park.
    • Designated times and days
    • Limit to defined areas of the park
    • Remove Jason as an off-leash area
    • Eliminate all off-leash areas and keep Canine Corral as the only off-leash park.
    • Add natural barriers or fencing
    • Construct another off formal dog park

    October 5—A public hearing was held to discuss the designated off-leash hours and potential off-leash changes.

  • October 19—City Council approved the following off-leash hours for Jason, Centennial, Duncan, and the Northwest Greenbelt parks to be effective January 1, 2010. Specifically: March 1 through October 31 — off-leash hours from 6:00 to 11:00 am and 6:00 to 11:00 pm; and November 1 through February 28 or 29 — 100% off-leash hours (no restriction on off-leash hours).

2017

  • March 2017 – The Parks and Recreation Master Plan is drafted. It addressed the need and desire to have a long-term solution that will benefit dog owners and park attendees equally. The Master Plan recommends a public process guided by the Parks and Recreation Commission to define how the community should proceed in the future with off-leash dogs. Additional maintenance, enforcement, and funding models employed by other communities should be evaluated.

2018

  • October 2018-The Off-Leash Dog Sub Committee was formed out of the Parks and Recreation Commission, as a result of increased complaints from Englewood residents about the off-leash dog park program.

The Sub Committee met with three stakeholder groups from November 2018 to April 2019, including Englewood Code Enforcement, Englewood Unleashed and Pirate Youth Sports.

2020

  • March 30--Staff presents council with the current off-leash program and the public education efforts and enforcement of off-leash dog rules. Council asks Parks & Recreation Board for recommendation regarding the off-leash program.
  • June 22--City Council directs staff to postpone further discussion on the recommendations until Council can meet in person.
  • July 6--City Council asks staff to bring the Board recommendations before Council at the next available date.
  • July 20 -- The Parks and Recreation Commission Subcommittee presented their recommendations to City Council for the off-leash program. 
  • At the July 20, 2020 Council meeting Council requested new recommendations for the off-leash program in addition to the Parks and Recreation Commission’s recommendations.  A task force was established and a mediator was contracted to oversee the meetings. 
  • December 14-- after the Off-Leash Task Force convened five times the recommendation was made to Council to produce a POLCO survey to find out how the residents felt about the off-leash program and potential recommendations the Off-Leash Task Force had discussed.

2021

  • April 26, 2021 POLCO presented the dog park survey results.  At this meeting Council recommended the Off-Leash Task Force meet one more time to discuss the survey results and possible recommendations for the off-leash program.
  • June 9- Off- Leash Task Force meets to review survey data and provide recommendations/ vote on various options related to the off-leash program.
  • August 23- Parks and Recreation staff along with the Parks and Recreation Commission Subcommittee presented off-leash data and the subcommittee recommendations for the off-leash program.  The three options provided were: Option 1: Accept the recommendations of the Parks and Recreation Commission.  Option 2: Council reviews each off-leash park and proposed off-leash park to determine if it should be off-leash and if it should be fenced.  Option 3: Make no changes to the off-leash program.
  • September 13- City Council reviewed each recommendation of the Off-Leash Task Force and the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board. Council gave staff specific direction on a park-by-park basis which formed the basis of the ordinance.

2020 and 2021 Discussions to Revise Off-Leash Regulations

Off-leash dogs have been a debated topic for the last 20 years in Englewood.  On March 30, 2020 staff presented information regarding the off-leash program to Council. Staff’s presentation was in response to a number of residents requesting Emerson Park to become part of the off-leash dog program along with numerous complaints regarding enforcement of the off-leash program. Council gave direction for staff to take this topic back to the Parks and Recreation Commission to find solutions for the off-leash program. Some of the responses from Council at the March 30th meeting included adding a licensing program, adding Emerson Park as an off-leash park and adding a park on the north side of the City (Cushing) in addition to continuing the “Take the Lead” off-leash educational campaign.

The Parks and Recreation Commission made the determination to reinstate the 2018-2019 Off-Leash Dog Subcommittee. The 2020 Off-Leash Subcommittee consisted of 3 Parks and Recreation Board Members: Mark Husbands, Kate Truesdale and Stephen Young and a staff liaison Dave Lee, Open Space Manager. On May 26, 2020 the Off-Leash Subcommittee met to review and discuss findings from stakeholder meetings and determine a recommendation to resolve the off-leash dog program issues.

On  June 11, 2020 the Sub Committee presented its recommendations to the Parks and Recreation Commission to modify the off-leash program. The Commission unanimously approved the recommendations.  

On July 20, 2020 the Sub Committee presented the following recommendations to City Council:

  • Off-leash dog privileges would be eliminated at Centennial, Jason and Duncan Parks.
  • The Northwest Greenbelt will remain an off-leash dog park, and proposed Emerson Park would transition to an off-leash dog park.
  • The Parks & Recreation Department would develop a comprehensive plan and secure funding for a new enclosed off-leash dog park at Cushing Park
  • The Parks & Recreation Department would continue the “Take the Lead” campaign and create content around the off-leash dog park changes.
  • The Parks & Recreation Department would create new opportunities for Englewood residents to socialize.

At the July 20, 2020 Council meeting Council requested new recommendations for the off-leash program in addition to the Parks and Recreation Commission recommendations.  A task force was established and a mediator was contracted to oversee the meetings.

  • OFF-LEASH TASK FORCE meeting dates:
    • September 22,2020
    • October 6, 2020
    • October 20, 2020
    • October 29, 2020
    • December 1, 2020
  • Task Force Members:
    • Mark Husbands, Parks & Recreation Commission
    • Kate Truesdale, Parks & Recreation Commission
    • Monica Johnson, Parks and Recreation Commission/Code Enforcement Advisory Committee
    • Stephen Young, Parks and Recreation Commission
    • Paul Rogalla, Englewood Unleashed
    • Steven Kelly, Englewood Unleashed
    • Poorvi Pfenning, Englewood Unleashed President
    • Jake Gilbert, Resident
    • Martha Griego, Resident
    • Allen McGirl, Pirate Youth Sports

       

  • December 1, 2020 Find Solutions Moderator, Steve Charbonneau held the final meeting for 2020 with the Off-Leash Task Force. Discussions on the off-leash recommendations were held along with the next steps in establishing a POLCO survey to send out to Englewood residents.
  • On December 14, 2020, Steve Charbonneau with Find Solutions and staff, presented to City Council the Task Force's recommendations and explained that these recommendations would be translated into a survey to obtain more community input. This input would help provide direction for the off-leash program and assist with the decision-making process.
  • January 7, 2021 postcards were mailed to 5,000 homes in Englewood. Those who received a postcard had a chance to respond until February 9th via online. Paper copies of the survey were mailed to residents who received a post card and requested a paper copy. A total of 520 random sample surveys were received and validated. An open survey became active to all Englewood residents on February 10- March 3. A total of 424 open participant surveys were received.
  • April 26, 2021 POLCO presented the dog park survey results.
    • A total of 5,000 addresses were randomly selected from a list of all residential addresses in Englewood. Each of these selected households were contacted two times with a postcard invitation to complete the survey online (using the provided URL). About 5% of the mailed invitation postcards (250) were returned due to being sent to vacant housing units. Of the estimated 4,750 remaining households, 520 completed the survey, providing a response rate of 11%. The margin of error for this survey with 520 respondents is ±4.3%. The open survey was available to Englewood residents starting on February 10th until March 3rd. A total of 424 survey responses were received from the open survey.
    • Highlights of the key findings from the survey:
      • Most Englewood residents use city parks and value their maintenance and cleanliness.
      • About half of households have dogs and 40% of those use existing off-leash city dog parks or areas.
      • Overall, residents feel dogs can be off-leash in city parks but in a fenced in area, and dog park users prioritize park cleanliness and maintenance for a successful fenced in dog park.
      • While a majority of respondents support a fenced off-leash dog area or park in Emerson, Cushing, Duncan, and Jason parks overall, support lessened for some when presented with the fencing options.
      • In general, many respondents support a dog licensing program in Englewood but are more hesitant of policy changes for non-residents.
  • April 26th Council provided direction to staff to have the Off-Leash Task Force meet one more time to finalize recommendations based off of the survey findings.
  • June 9, 2021 the Off-Leash Task Force reconvened to review options for the off-leash program.  Since the December 1, 2020 Off-Leash Task Force meeting a few members dropped out and new representatives from Englewood Unleashed (Doug Abramowitz and Jon Lieberman) and residents from the Emerson Park neighborhood (Dean Kinblom and Jordan Storfa) were added for the June 9th meeting.  Staff felt it was important to hear from the Emerson Park residents before providing more information to City Council on recommendations.
  • August 10, 2021 the Parks and Recreation Commission Sub Committee met to discuss the POLCO survey findings and Off Leash Task Force data.  
  • August 23, 2021, staff along with the Parks and Recreation Commission Sub Committee presented council with data and recommendations for the off-leash program.
  • September 13, 2021, staff along with the Parks and Recreation Commission Sub Committee reviewed each park being proposed to remove, add or keep as part of the off-leash program to bring back as a resolution to council at a future meeting.

Off-Leash Meeting Agendas, Minutes, Presentations and Recordings

Summary of Changes to Off Leash Regulations Adopted by Council October 2021

OFF-LEASH AREAS:

  1. Jason: off-leash (Fence north of the playground, use of temporary fence for multi-use field, on-leash only south end of the park where amenities (playground, basketball court, picnic shelter) are located)
  2. Duncan: off-leash (Fence separating areas, north side of the fence is off-leash, southside of the fence is on-leash)
  3. Northwest Greenbelt: remain off-leash: no fencing
  4. Canine Corral: remain off-leash: improve ground cover at Canine Corral - hours are 6 a.m. to 11p.m.

ON-LEASH PARKS:

All other parks in the City shall require all pets to be leashed unless specifically designated otherwise by City Council, including:

  • Centennial (no off-leash)
  • Cushing (no off-leash)
  • Emerson (no off-leash)

Off-Leash Hours: The hours of 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. – March 1 to October 31.  Hours move to 6a.m. to 11p.m November 1 to February 28/29