Scotts Valley to discuss potential restrictions to dog access in public parks

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (KION) - City officials are considering new restrictions that could impact dog owners across the community, stating dog waste and holes in sports fields are creating a safety and health issue for community members.

Otherwise known as a "man's best friend," some dogs may soon find themselves unwelcome in parts of the city's public parks.

City council member Donna Lind has had some personal encounters with dogs misbehaving and their owners not doing their part. "There have been times when people have been knocked down. We've had bites, we've had dogs attacked," said Lind.

City Manager Moli Lagoe foresees a growing problem with dogs digging holes, damaging park grounds, dog waste on the ground, and even dog attacks.

"We just have been meeting with representatives from softball and Little League the last few months to talk about the fields and the conditions and how we can work better together. And dogs is a consistent issue that they have brought up," said Lagoe.

However, community members who have used the parks almost every day say they haven't seen any of that. Among them is Amy Smith. She said, "I'm surprised because most of the people I know are pretty responsible about cleaning up after their dogs and taking care of whatever their dog's needs are. And I see most of the dogs leashed, so there's not much of a problem there."

While the city is now considering a proposal to restrict dogs from certain high-use areas, including playgrounds and sports fields, some are not happy with those possible changes.

Yet again Amy Smith says, "I understand there are people that aren't as responsible maybe that leave a mess for people that are trying to play ball or do some sports activities and that's not that's not a good thing but um of course you know I'd love to be able to keep walking you know."

City Manager Moli Lagoe plans to hold discussions on ways to reduce terrible encounters with the public.

"We've put as far as well, maybe dogs shouldn't be allowed seasonally on where we know there's heavy sports play. Or maybe we can provide other off-leash dog areas in the city to give dog owners somewhere else to go. So maybe we need more enforcement. Maybe we need better signage. So those are the types of things that we will be discussing," Lagoe said.

In the meantime, officials are urging dog owners to do their part by picking up after their pets, keeping dogs on leash, and making sure pets aren't damaging any more fields.