MAY 21, 2009 ISSUE
Blowing Rock Council, Dog Owners Reach Compromise
Dogs Prohibited in Memorial Park Play Area, Davant Field, Robbins Pool
Man’s best friend has a lot more room to walk in Blowing Rock thanks to a new ordinance, a significant compromise from a previous town policy that prohibited dogs in all town parks.
The Blowing Rock Town Council voted 3-2 Tuesday night to approve an ordinance that prohibits dogs in the play area of Memorial Park, the playing surface of Davant Field and the Grover C. Robbins Memorial Pool and play area. However, the ordinance permits dogs on the path surrounding Davant Field, in Broyhill Park, in Annie Cannon Gardens, in the Glen Burney Trail area and—in a major victory for dog lovers—in the bench area of Memorial Park along Main Street.
Council members Tommy Klutz, Albert Yount and Keith Tester voted in favor of the motion, while council members Barbara Ball and Phillip Pickett cast votes against the measure.
The issue of dogs in Blowing Rock parks has emerged several times in the past. Council members have expressed concerns for the safety of children in the parks and about owners who fail to clean up after their dogs.
As town policy, dogs have not been allowed in municipal parks since 1993, when a Blowing Rock Parks and Recreation regulation prohibiting dogs took effect. Several signs have been installed at the edges of Memorial Park to inform visitors of the policy, but town staff members have expressed concerns that dog owners are not adhering to the rule.
As a result, town staff drafted an ordinance to prohibit dogs in town parks that would make the policy a town law enforceable by the town Police Department and punishable by a $100 fine. When staff first presented the draft ordinance to council last month, about a dozen impassioned people engaged in a heated standoff with council members—particularly Mayor J.B. Lawrence and Ball, who strongly oppose dogs in the parks—to express their opposition to the ordinance and ask for compromise. On Tester’s motion, the council agreed to table the proposed ordinance.
On Tuesday, Planning Director Kevin Rothrock presented a revised version of the ordinance that permitted dogs on the Davant Field path, in Broyhill Park, in Annie Cannon Gardens and at Glen Burney Trail, but not in the Memorial Park bench area—a request sought by several speakers at the April meeting. Reasons given for banning dogs from the bench area were to prevent dogs from trampling or defecating in the Garden Club’s landscaped area in front of the benches; that dog waste creates unsanitary conditions even when owners clean up after them; that children use the bench area as well as adults; and that some adults and children are intimidated by dogs.
Several people thanked the town for the compromises made but asked them to further consider allowing dogs in the bench areas. They argued that many seniors and town visitors simply enjoy sitting on the benches with their dogs. If the council is concerned about dog bites and dog poop, one woman said, then the town should enforce the leash law and provide cleanup bags.
“I think very few people will be taking a vicious dog with them to the bench,” said Mark Crumpler, a full-time Blowing Rock resident.
Two people—both Garden Club members—spoke in favor of restricting dogs in the bench area.
Klutz made a motion to erect an iron fence separating the benches from the rest of the park, but the motion died after failing to get a second.
Ball questioned the town’s ability to enforce the ordinance if dogs were allowed in the bench area and not the rest of Memorial Park. She suggested raising the fine from $100 to $500, arguing that $100 is not enough to get people’s attention.
After council members agreed to define the bench area as the area within the concrete slabs on which the benches stand, Klutz motioned to accept the draft ordinance along with an amendment to add the Memorial Park bench area to the places where dogs are permitted.
After the vote, the full house of mostly dog supporters erupted in applause and cheers.
Next month, the council will consider amendments to town ordinances to include specific language about leash requirements and to consider requirements and fines for leashes and dog waste cleanup.
Community Interest
News & Notes
Events
Arts & Entertainment
