Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2022 06 08

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May 11, 2022 Minutes Continued- Mr. Bell Citizen Comment Materials Safety Park managers and community officials ranked the safety of people and dogs as a primary concern in dealing with dog parks. However, our study, as well as those conducted elsewhere, reveal that injuries to people and dogs from dog bites at legal off-Ieash areas are rare. One possible reason for the low risk of a dog bite may be that park users almost always do not bring dogs that are likely to bite other dogs or people. However, overly assertive, overly unruly, and undersocialized dogs can negatively impact the behavior and welfare of other dogs visiting the park. To help ensure that this does not become an issue, the following suggestions should be implemented: Overtly aggressive, overly assertive, overly unruly, and undersocialized dogs should be discouraged from visiting the parks. Park users should be educated in the signs that dogs display when performing these behaviors. While not aggressive to the point of fighting with other dogs, a dog that displays these types of behaviors can cause other dogs to become excessively fearful. 2. Park users should be discouraged from bringing young puppies or fearful dogs to parks, as they may be made more fearful by highly assertive dogs, highly interactive dogs, or rough play. A fearful dog may snap or bite as a way of defending itself, and perhaps develop problems that can be seen outside of the confines of a dog park. 3. The park users must have their dog under voice control. 4. Children should always be closely supervised by a responsible adult. S. Owners should carry their leash on them at all times. 6. One activity for a dog park club is to help monitor interactions between dogs and other dogs and between dogs and people. The best option for an organization is to obtain indemnification from potential liability from their local government. If local government has this sort of expectation from a dog park user group, then the governmental entity should be required to indemnify the group and absorb any legal liability (and legal costs) that might ensue. Noise This is another frequently mentioned concern of community officials. The noise level at parks invariably increased over baseline in the area of the highest concentration of activity during peak use. The degree that the surrounding community will notice this depends upon the degree to which the noise level potentially reflects an increase in ambient noise from such things as noise from increased automobile traffic. It should be kept in mind that sound level declines exponentially with distance from the source of the sound. Our research revealed no correlation approaching significance between the increase in noise level at dog parks during times of heavy use and ranking of park success. In park locations where noise from dogs may be an issue, we suggest the following: 1. Do not establish a dog park immediately adjacent to residential property lines. 2. If the dog park must be located immediately adjacent to residential property lines, create sound -- buffers with plant_%, fencing or earthen berms if needed. 3. If an established park shares a border with residential property lines, move the area of heaviest — usage away from that boundary.