Council Stays With Mary Avenue Dog Park

Transforming a lead-contaminated triangle of land along Mary Avenue into an off-leash dog park seemed like, well, a dog of an idea, but that’s exactly what the Cupertino City Council adopted on Tuesday night, after rejecting space-sharing plans at other parks.

The 19,000-square-foot park along the Highway 85 soundwall in the neighborhood behind The Oaks shopping center had already been approved by the council in 2009, and $250,000 is sitting in this fiscal year’s capital improvement project budget.

Tuesday’s action by a council majority of 4-1 authorized staff to find an additional $100,000 to contain the lead—likely from vehicle exhaust in the days of leaded gas—and proceed with constructing the park.

The debate over off-leash dogs in Cupertino parks has been a divisive issue for several years, but Tuesday’s meeting was devoid the anger and acrimony of past hearings. The council and staff gave the audience of about 25 a round of applause for its civility.

In affirming the Mary Avenue dog park, the council sidestepped two staff alternatives that would have allowed limited hours for off-leash dogs at either Library Field, next door to the Cupertino Library on Torre Avenue, or Memorial Park on Stevens Creek Boulevard.

At Library Field, the staff suggested erecting a four-foot high fence around the entire field at a cost of $80,000, allowing off-leash dogs from 7 to 9 a.m., Monday through Friday. The field is a highly used site for both soccer and cricket leagues. The fence would provide an added benefit of preventing stray balls from rolling into the street.

The Memorial Park proposal had no fence, but the same limited hours. Parks and Recreation Director Mark Linder said the city would have to develop a plan with San Jose Animal Control to, in effect, certify dog owners to use the park. Owners would have to show their dogs were were well controlled by voice commands.

Linder said the staff used a sharing model from Boulder, Colorado, in developing the alternatives.

The Memorial Park plan was a favorite among members of the Cupertino Veterans Memorial organization, who hoped off-leash dogs would solve the pernicious geese feces that is causing damage to the memorial.

“It’s a serious health issue, as well as for this very beautiful honor we have in our city, it’s difficult for people who go there to spend time honoring their loved ones, and honoring our veterans, to have to tippy toe to find things,” said former mayor Sandy James, who spearheaded creation of the memorial. “We think it’s a fair and honest objective to at least give it a try.”

Said Corky Axelson, who volunteers every Friday to clean the memorial, “I find that people are much better at cleaning up after their dogs, than the geese are at cleaning up after themselves.”

Most of the 19 residents who spoke out Tuesday were in favor of either establishing off-leash times at Library Field or Memorial Park, or going back to the Mary Avenue dedicated park idea.

“I think it’s high time for Cupertino to have its own dog park,” said Claudette Miller, a non-dog owner who said she lives down the street from Library Field. She fully supported fencing the field and establishing off-leash hours.

“What does it say about our community that our neighboring towns can find a solution and we cannot?” she asked council.

A few were strongly opposed to any sharing of existing parks with off-leash dogs, even with dedicated hours, citing safety concerns and opposition from neighboring residents.

David Fung, a parks and recreation commissioner speaking for himself, said based on past city surveys on the subject, “the new proposals would be overwhelmingly opposed and should not be considered.”

Mayor Mark Santoro made his own pitch for sharing existing space at Wilson, Jollyman, Hoover, and Linda Vista parks toward the end of the discussion, but a majority on the council indicated they thought the best solution was a dedicated park.

Councilmember Rod Sinks said after visiting several parks in neighboring cities he was highly skeptical that sharing existing grassy areas would work. He specifically was worried the dogs would tear up turf, even with limited hours, causing expensive maintenance issues.

Councilmember Gilbert Wong said he liked that the Mary Avenue site would be a dedicated area allowing daily use from dawn to dusk. He was concerned about the potential cost of removing or containing the lead, but “it’s something the community really wants,” and that it was time to make a decision and move on.

Vice Mayor Orrin Mahoney was the lone objector due to the cost of the Mary Avenue park. He was also against any unfenced proposals, favoring the Library Field plan instead.