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Posted at 11:20 a.m., Thursday, November 15, 2007

Maui slowly paving way for dog parks

By CHRIS HAMILTON
The Maui News

WAILUKU — The Maui County Parks and Recreation Department took puppy steps Wednesday toward joining the national trend of providing dog parks in which pets can be allowed off-leash.

Mayor Charmaine Tavares' administration introduced the bill under review by the County Council's Public Works and Facilities Committee with several changes to existing laws meant to pave the way for dog parks, Parks and Recreation Department Director Tamara Horcajo told The Maui News.

In a related matter, parks administrators also proposed a measure to require dog owners to pick up dog poop.

Horcajo said her office regularly receives calls from individuals and community groups interested in having a dog park in their neighborhood. In response, the department is interested in building a dog park in each of the four park districts, she said.

Maui actually got its first public dog park this spring when the Wailea Community Association took it upon itself to spearhead the $75,000 development and opened the Kilohana Dog Park.

A dog park is a fenced-in area where unleashed dogs can roam free, just as long as the dogs are closely supervised by their owners and have nonaggressive temperaments.

The fences are up to 6 feet high with a double-gated entrance. In most dog parks across the United States, enforcement of rules and etiquette is handled by volunteers.

"This will allow us the opportunity to bring dog parks to the forefront once again," Horcajo said. "But with the current ordinance language and leash laws we have, we have not been able to move forward to build the partnerships we need to create the dog parks in our community."

Here is what the Parks and Recreation Department is recommending:

  • Amend the existing law to allow dog parks in public recreation areas.

  • Dog owners must be in control of their dog at all times and cannot tie their dog up in a park.

    Within urban districts, there currently is no place to legally have a dog off a leash in Maui County, except within fenced-in yards, said Aimee Anderson, director of animal control for the Maui Humane Society.

    Council members appeared to support the concept, but had concerns about the county's liability in case of a dog attack.

    The committee asked the corporation counsel to tweak the language of the amendments before the members take them up again.

    "Owner responsibility is an important piece in setting up liability for the parks," Horcajo said.

    Under questioning by Council Chairman Riki Hokama, the parks director said she doesn't know how much it will cost to put future parks in place. Horcajo said any capital requests likely won't come until fiscal year 2010.

    However, Horcajo noted that a community group in Kihei already has raised $10,000 to build a second public dog park. And the language change would put the Kilohana Dog Park in compliance, since it is on county land.

    County Recreation Program Planner John Buck, who has been researching dog parks, said the standard dog park is a minimum of one acre.

    The Kilohana park is about 90 feet by 70 feet, built on a small parcel developed and turned over to the county alongside a water tank site on one side of the Wailea Resort.

    Buck suggested that perhaps the dog park proposed for Kihei will be larger and reserved for big dogs while Kilohana Dog park could be set aside for little dogs.

    The Kilohana Dog Park really is too small to be a dog park at all, Anderson said. However, since the county has a finite amount of land, dog lovers must work with what they can get, she said.

    Buck said the department has been looking at using water retention basins for dog parks rather than existing athletic fields or recreation areas. Those parks would have to be locked shut when floodwater is present, he said.

    Dog owner Dorothy Wissmar spoke in favor of the dog parks, saying there aren't even enough sidewalks on Maui to walk a dog safely.

    Jocelyn Bouchard, Maui Humane Society chief executive officer, said 43 percent of Maui residents own dogs and have an average of two dogs per household.

    There is a clear need for dog parks, she said. With a growing population, the number of loose dog complaints grew by 20 percent last year.

    Bouchard also spoke up for the safety of dog parks. Some Mainland communities have had dog parks for years without a serious problem due to the diligence of the owners, she said.

    "This might not be the most perfect resolution, but at least we're starting," Buck said. "And it's more than we've done for the last 10 years."

    For more Maui news, visit The Maui News.