Staff Report. Donna Silva, Parks & Community Services Director. Recommended CEQA procedure for location of dog park at core area pond

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1 Item Number: No Meeting Date: July 9, 2003 Staff Report June 27, 2003 TO: FROM: SUBJECT: City Council Donna Silva, Parks & Community Services Director Recommended CEQA procedure for location of dog park at core area pond Recommendation (1) Proceed with consultant (Tschudin) recommendation of technical analyses of potential impacts to (1) water quality and (2) biological resources OR (2) If Council chooses not to proceed with the technical analyses, then direct staff to return to the Recreation & Park Commission for recommendations on alternative site(s). Fiscal Impact Consultant (Tschudin) provides on Page #7 of the attached Findings that it is not possible to determine the range of cost for the technical studies without input from experts in those fields and/or a formal scoping process. If the cost of an analysis is less than $10,000 an admistrativiely approved budget adjustment will be processed from the general fund. If the cost of an analysis is greater than $10,000, staff will return to Council for consideration of a budget adjustment and proceeding with the analysis. Background The Final Dog Park report was presented to the Recreation & Park Commission on August 15, At that meeting the Commission provided the following recommendations after review of the report: (1) Develop the Core Area pond area as a dog park in the year. (2) Direct staff to work with neighbors and dog owners to fence existing dog run areas in existing neighborhood parks and greenbelts. (3) Eliminate the existing dog run area in Community Park and add a dog run area in a more appropriate area in Community Park. (4) Enter into an agreement with the Cemetery District (5) Revise the Parks & Recreation Facilities masterplan to include dog parks and dog run areas. (6) Explore Grassland Park as a possible site for a dog park.

2 City Council Staff Report Subject: Recommended CEQA procedure for location of dog park at core area pond June 27, 2003 Page 2 At the November 6, 2002 Council meeting, Council approved the following eight staff recommendations as a part of the Final Report from the Dog Park Committee: (1) Proceed with initial study to determine proper process for environmental review of Core Area Pond (Toad Hollow) and return to Council with recommendation on process. (2) Direct staff to work with neighbors and dog owners to explore options for fencing existing dog run areas in neighborhood parks (Pioneer and Sycamore) and Aspen greenbelt and return to the R&P Commission for recommendations on funding. (3) Direct staff to provide a recommendation to the R&P Commission on an appropriate area in Community Park for a fenced dog run area. Eliminate the existing dog run area in Community Park and relocate to an area approved by the R&P Commission. (4) Direct staff to prepare an agreement with the Cemetery District for the City to lease the vacant land at the Cemetery site, which is currently used informally as a dog park area. (5) Direct staff to return with analysis concerning the issue of the Parks & Recreation Facilities masterplan to include dog parks or dog run areas. Note: this was an approved substitute recommendation by Councilmember Harrington. (6) Direct staff to talk to the County about the possibility of part of the Grasslands Park being used as a dog park area. (7) Do not investigate the use of the Landfill site for park functions, including a dog park, until after the future development of Covell Center is determined. (8) Do not place fenced dog park areas in Arroyo or Walnut Parks. The attached analysis and report from Tschudin Consulting Group addresses the recommendation to return to Council with information on what CEQA process would be required for a dog park located at the Core Area Pond. In addition, this staff report will update Council on the status of recommendation #s 2, 3 & 6. Staff Recommendation #1: As described in the attached report, the recommended next step in the CEQA process is technical analyses of potential impacts to the water quality and biological resources at the core area pond. The results of these two analyses will indicate whether the city would need to proceed with a negative declaration or full EIR. Staff acknowledges the sensitive issues associated with the core area pond; however, we also recognize that the research and analysis provided by the Dog Park Committee indicated this site as the most favorable site for a dog park, if these sensitive issues could be addressed.

3 City Council Staff Report Subject: Recommended CEQA procedure for location of dog park at core area pond June 27, 2003 Page 3 The Committee reviewed several potential locations, held public meetings for input and finally identified the following potential sites for consideration: (1) Core Area Pond, (2) Grasslands Park, (3) Old Landfill site, (4) Arroyo Park, (5) Grande site (owned by DJUSD), and (6) Mace Ranch neighborhood park. A couple of months ago, the County let us know that they are not interested in a dog park at the Grasslands Park. Staff recommended and Council approved postponing any decisions on the use of the Old Landfill site until after the development of Covell Village is determined. Arroyo Park was removed from consideration because of the opposition from the neighborhood, the Grande site is not owned by the city, and locating a community-wide use in the Mace Ranch neighborhood park may not be appropriate. Based on these issues, the Core Area pond location is the only remaining potential site from this list of locations analyzed and recommended by the Committee. Staff is recommending proceeding with the two analyses in order to determine whether this site is feasible or not. In addition, the Cemetery District has expressed that they expect the city to be actively working on a solution for a long-term city dog park, and our lease agreement with them is an interim measure while we are proceeding with that solution. Staff Recommendation #2: As described above, the Committee researched several locations for a dog park and recommended potential sites. If the Council should choose not to proceed with the analyses, thereby removing the Core Area pond from consideration, staff would need to begin the work on researching whether there are any other potential locations. Update on recommendations from 11/6/02 Council mtg Recommendation #2: as described above, this recommendation was to have staff work with neighbors and dog owners to explore options for fencing existing dog run areas in neighborhood parks (Pioneer and Sycamore) and Aspen greenbelt. Pat Riley intends to begin this process in the fall. Recommendation #3: this recommendation directed staff to relocate the existing dog run area in Community Park. The new location, near the skatepark, was approved by the Commission; however, the funding for relocating the dog run area is 50% donations. There is a group of people, including former dog park committee members, who are meeting to form a non-profit group to address issues such as fundraising for donations. Recommendation #6: this recommendation directed staff to talk to the County about the possibility of part of the Grasslands Park being used as a dog park area. As mentioned above, the County is not interested in locating a dog park at this site.

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