More off-leash areas, times approved by council

By a rare 3-2 split, the Boulder City Council voted last week to give a few additional options for those residents who were opposed to the leash law passed late last year.

Mayor Joe Hardy and Councilman Steve Walton were the dissenting votes.

Ordinance 1872 states that dog owners must keep their dogs on a leash in all public areas, unless they are in a designated off-leash area, as approved by council. Dogs are never permitted in Hemenway Park (due to wildlife), on the golf courses, on fenced sports fields or sport courts, on the splash pad, on playgrounds, or at the pool. In addition, all dogs must be licensed, renewed annually, spayed or neutered, and up-to-date on all vaccines.

“I know there’s some opposition and I recognize that for various reasons but I still feel like this is a small enough municipality, with 17 parks, that we could carve out a few hours,” Councilwoman Sherri Jorgensen said of off-leash use.

Council had previously approved the following areas and times for off-leashed dogs:

• Fenced in dog parks at Veterans Memorial Park 5 a.m. - 10 p.m.

• North Escalante Park 5 a.m. - 10 p.m.

• Linear Channel between Ville Drive and Lake Mountain Drive 5 a.m. - 10 p.m.

• Outlying Boulder City desert areas: Wilbur Square with limited hours of: 5 - 8 a.m. and 3 - 6 p.m.

During last week’s meeting, the following were added to that resolution by that 3-2 vote:

• Desert Area west (adjacent) to Veterans Memorial Park during park hours.

• Pratte Field located at Veterans Memorial Park with limited morning hours 5 to 8 a.m.

• The common areas around the baseball fields at Veterans Memorial Park with limited morning hours 5 to 8 a.m.

• Linear Park south between Pacifica Way and the drainage ditch during park hours.

• Wilbur Square off-leash hours be adjusted to reflect daylight savings with afternoon hours from November to March from 3 to 6 p.m. and April through October from 6 to 9 p.m. - and morning hours 5 to 8 a.m. daily.

In previous meetings, Hardy has expressed his concerns about dog feces not being picked up by their owners within the parks, primarily at Pratt Field, where youth soccer sporting events are played.

This applies to dogs both leashed and unleashed, he said.

Walton expressed similar concerns and reminded everyone that it’s not just dog owners who enjoy the parks. He said often is the case that a handful of individuals can ruin things for the masses.

“I think we need to look at all the totality of who we represent,” Walton said. “We represent dog owners, we represent people who like off-leash activity, we represent people who like on-leash activity and we represent people who don’t do any dog activities at all. All of them need equal representation.”