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Home My WebLink About0419.094· ~., .. , "" ' City of Palo Alto City Manager's Report TO: HONORABLE CllY COUI\'CIL FROM, JjATE: DEPARTMEI\'T: Communil)' Sen'lecs Seplember 8, 1994 CMR: 419:94 SUBJECf: MUcholl Park Dog Run REQUEST This is an informallonal report regarding complaints about noise am.l odors O! Ihe i\,'lilchcll Pork dog run. RECQMMENIl@.QN,(i This report is informational only. No Council action i5 necess.uy. 1'0 LlCY !M.~I.,J.L"TI QNl> This reporl does not represenT any change La existing CilY poli{'ic.s. EXECUTIVE SlIMMARY Animal Services and Community Services staff have worked diligently {since 1991). with the residents and management of the Stcvem.oll House. in order to alleviate complainls regarding the Mitchell Park dog ntn. The issues are barking dog cOlnplairHs, parlicularly in the early morning and laic e\·enil1g periods. and ooor problems from animal udne and fecal waste. Clly siaff ha~ responded to Ihese and other complaints by: 1. Adding irrigation sprinklers around the base of jhe Irees to dilufe the urine odors. 2. Pur("ilasing and installing ~pooper scoopers" and bags for use by dog owners to dispose of a ni mal W8:'1 te, 3. Enlisting volunteers to monitor the facility, 4. lnstalJing signage detailing hours of operation, 5. Making available to the Stevenson, House residents, the police dispatch number to report disturbances. The, residents of tbe· Stevenson House h-ave been very p~[ient -ilnd appreciative of staffs efforts to mitigate, the probtems, but the problems siitl persis!. CMR: 419:9-4 Pa~1(:.f2 , , , The residents and management of the Stevenson House requested ill a tetter to the Mayor (March 171 1994), Ihat the dog run: be relocated from its preSCnllocalion. In response (0 thai leIter, staff held a meeting on July 27 to provide a fonlm for all irwolved, Many pO!'itive suggestions were received. and two subcommittee" of dog owners were fonned. One rommittee1s task will be to 10flk at altcrl1a!e !ocalion!' for the dog run bOlh Mitchell Park and at other locations. The other committee wili be working 10 help keep the faciEt)' clean,until a decision Is made about relocating the dog run. Staff ~iJl continue 10 work with bOlh groups through a series of public meetings, to develop a \\lorkable sorution that will be agreeable to the City as well. At that time, staff will rehlTn to Council with further informatioJ1 and request direction regarding resolution of the problems wilh ;he dog run. Et~CM--.lMUIT There is no rL~c.tl imp~ct .<l\i.SOdaleo with this report ~J'!Y!RQNMt~NTAkASBl'.~~IENT No envjronmental aSf,e~5melH is required. ATTACHMENTS. M eeti ng Notice Steve.",oo House leuer., (November 1993. july 1994) Siaff response. to July 1994 letler PREPARED ny: P"ul Dias. Parks "nd Golr Division Greg Betts, Animal Services DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW: J5ilm.. ~ PAUL THILTGEN Director of Community Services CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: =BuuuwIJ\\.,~ IlERNARD M. STROJNY:? Ass;slanl City M:,l:I1Clger CC: Stevenson House, Beverly Karant:z, Executive Direc:m Unda Bickham. Dog Run Commiltee Chairperson CMR: 4l9.'9-1 \ .. PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS RELOCATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE MITCHELL PARK DOG RUN Because of continuing problems with noise, sanitation and drainage at the present <log play area at Mitchell Park, ihe City of Palo Alto Parks Department is considering relocating the run. There will be a meeting for interested pet owners to provide suggestions and comments on possible new locations and the features that should be built into a new play area. Wednesday, July 27, 1994 7:30 P.M. Main Room Mitchell Park' Community Center (across from the Mitchell Library) The purpose of this informal meeting is to provide dog owners who use the play area II chance to get to meet one-another; receive information about what has prompted the City to look at moving the run; receive information from Park Superintendent Paul Dias about possible alternative sites and the process that will be used for. selecting a new site; receive information about opportunities to . volunteer to help on the construction of a new run; and for the City staff to listen to suggestions for features that are important in the design of a new play area. If you can not attend this meeting but would like to make comments about the current or future play area at Mitchell Park, please write to Greg Betts, Superintendent of Animal Services, 3281 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303 (or fax 857-9646). . We hope to see you on Wednesday, July 27th! , '. ' Stevenson House Harch 17, 1994 Liz l<oi$s II cQmmvnlty {er ac/ivq "Ider adults Mayor of Palo ~lto 1985 Coypar str~et palo Alto, CA 94)QI Dear Hayor ~nls6: Residents of A61ai £. Stevenson Rouse B[e lequ~stln9 that the dog run located ~t MJtchell p~rk, adjacent to $t~Y~nson RODse, be X'"E!loc.8ted •. Ne are ,,""are that th. 130'1 run has been at this locatIon for a number of ye13rs. ~o'i"e\'er 'Within tha h£lt y~ar, the "olse h~~ beco~e Intol~tablc. This 18 du~ to t~e increa5ed usoaqe, There have be1;!n as "'any a.s thll:ty dogs in the rt.ln at. t he same till',e, ThIs incxeased usoa9~ ~eeros to b9 attributed to the fact that nel~hborln9 citl~s do not h3ve dog runs or h~vc clo3e~ thoir dog rtlns.. When a resident callif:'d gountail1 IIle".l/ P{'S!olo Park and .Los Altos, he was told on all three occasions t" cal! 9alo Alto for the location of the1r dog r~ns. Residents havG ~~t ~ith Cr~90ry Botls of the Anl~~l S~ryices and placement Cqoter, Don Plana and. Paul D1a7 ot the Park~ Del'artr1el1t to discuss the proble~!; with th& ~o9 rIH',. HOl,lever D,fter several months of ttyi,nq to ~ork \.!1th the anlm3:1 cOTltrol and park [)ecsonnl9"l, it became-very <:le;'JT th.!Ot UIS problem ie the CQn$t~llt nolee particularly durin9 the $Y9nings and weexendc, Th.h: is partJ.cuhdy a9'9.dev1 nQ to th~ re~id.nts resld.1n9 in 11 ... 11 bulldin9 h.('tng the run, Futh .. ,rrr,ore, our dinin9 l"oom is jU~t on the ()ther side ot tho h~(lge bordering the rUfl, The noisQ and the .stGhC'b dur1r19 £\.U:\.'l:or Plil):;OIi ,dln1n; nry unpleasant. Wo ~ave tourad the other two doq runs; ana at Creec f~rk and the other at Hoo\'e.t' park. The run at GrGer is: ne:.et to a cc~erclal parking lot, the Qther on9 at aOOv&r 11 next to a canal. J. number of residents bave taJ;;en th$' Uft",e t.o resQarch alternate locations and have sh~red these ~ith Creq Aetts and Paul D1az. 4S5 E, Cho~eslon Rood • Polo AHo, California 94306 • (415) 494·1944 " " ., w. are aware that the Council 1. fQrnulat!n9 the budqet for thifl,.next tJ.8c41 yeat'. Therefor_, we thln)::. it 1. I.portent that we: present, this concern to :you aDd the ceuneU ., ,s()(Jn •• pouibl •• ~le&s. a4viee us A~ to whet Oue Q8Xt .t,p should be. We 4Ppre'ciate your conClC!rn and help. November 12, 1993 Paul Dias Dii'ector Stevenson House ... community (or active cider ad,,", Parks and Golf Division 3201 East Bayshore Road P.O. Box 10250 Paio Alto, CA 94303 O1;!ar Paul: This 1s a follow-up to the JIlaetinq of .our residents with Gregory Betts and Don Plana on AprIl, 15,1993 concerning the dog run in Mitchell Park. At that time, it was agreed that the residents would call whenever any of the posted l'ules were being violated. r am enclosing a copy of the flyer which was given to the residents for this purpose. The residents have not received satisfactory responses to their calls, 'The responses have ranged from: Iithis is not an E"n1ergency, we have no one available to respond"; IIdogs will be dogs" ( this was from a park ranger); "you should call Animal Control and they don't work on wef!k:ends"~ A police officer came to a resident's door in responsG to a calIon Sunday, September 12, 1993 and agreed that the noise was loud but he couldn't do anything about it. I myself witnessed a vicious dog fight one evening after work. It ."ould not have been producth'e to call you beC31JSe the fight was over before I could qet back into the building to call. It is a very unhealthy situation for the residents, mentally and physically~ I have already lost one resident because of the noise on the run. Others who have been calling find the whole effort energy draining and frustrating. As one resident expressed it: "At our age we donit have the energy to fight". Others have difficulty $leep~ng and when they finally drift off, they are woken up, frequently at 6:00 a~m. The sign clearly states, no noise before 9:00 a.m. If they get up to make the call, they will stay up because they will be wide awake. Furthermore, the L"Un 1s only 4'i ft. from our dining room. Whenever the ground gets damp or during very hot· days, the sten~h becomes unbearable~ This happen~ no matter how much ~aintenance is done. This is not a pleasant or healthy eating environment fot: the residents. When we met with Greg and Don, I"'e also invited thE: dog owners who use the dog run. No owner showed up. 4S5 E. Charleston Rood • Palo Alto, CclHomio 94306 • (415) 494·1944 w. are no~ requestinq a meeting with you, Greg Betts and Don Piana to discuss other options towards resolving this issue. These options should include the possible relocation of the run. Becau~e th1$ impacts the welfare of our residents, we are serious in o~ pursuit to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, ~.~~-;1 A··-(.·~·/rr.,{~ Beverly A. ~arnat? Executive Director c.c. Don Pi"na Greg Betts Palo , , . {,' I , " ",' '. ;':<" --~:" ~ '~/; O;~:-.\'-:, " ~. L onard E~~ Vice pr<esldent- Eoard of Directors Alto Senior Housing Project, rnc. "" ..... ""'''''''''""' ~~m th.,;", p","",,= """'1M ~~, &::~"",e) May 11, 1994 il<ve r1y A. Karnau Executive DirectOr Ste\le nson HOllse 455 East Charl.Slon Road Palo AI to CA 94306 , '.) CityofPalofJ.to Dqmtnlfflt'fO""rm""tyS.'rVfre; We a.ppreciate your (oncern aboUllhr dog run at i'vHtchell Park and we agree wilh )'OU that the heavy use of thai s[le n3s aemed bOlh a noise and odor problem for your facility. 1 know that bo!~ Paul Dias of Ihe Parks and Golf Division an.d Greg BetlS of Animal Servkes have worked on several approaches to attempt to mediate the problem. Afler 311 those efforts, we appear to be le(t with only three option~: I) leave the dog run as 1t is; 2) dose (he dog run, or 3) relocate the dog (tin lLl anothe.r location. Ne:ilh(;or of the first IWO oplions. wouid be ac('eptable to all parries involved. Our best approach would be to find an allerm,ti'o'e sile for (he dog run users. This is not an easy task due co sile limil'Hion.s.. On April 6, 1994, staff visited 16 City·uwned park sites; to see if any of them oould accommodale the dog Hm faci!il)'. There appear to be very few sites that might accommodate this. usc. We now need to develop costs for relocatil1g the dog run. It \~iH then be necessary to meet with the dog run uSers an!i other members of the community lO inform them of I,he change. and when !h~ final location will be ,elected. II ~illl3.ke a period of lime 10 compreie (his lusk, depending on the site (ilac is $elected. \Ve appred;ue your palien('t in Ihij. maHer, and you can be assured that we are acting on your ('on('ern and will keep YOll informed as. we proeeed. cc; Mayor Kniss City Council lucie ~Cm!er IXbl\ lidd.!e&ld. Read P..Jo :'\ito,G\943Ql .J15.329.Z?39- 4.15.321,5612 Fax '!.,.'.