Dogs BANNED at the DFP ?!

Last Spring, the Santa Barbara City Council voted to exempt Wilcox/DFP from the leash law, a decision that appears to be about to change.

The issue of dogs at Wilcox/DFP is now being discussed in the context of the Management Plan being designed by the Wilcox/DFP Advisory Commission, in consultation with the consulting firm of Crawford, Multari, and Clark (CM&C). An initial report prepared by Sara Kocher of CM&C was presented to the City’s DFP Advisory Committee in late November. In that report, CM&C recommended re-imposing leash-law restrictions at Wilcox/DFP because "dog averse people may be avoiding the site…" as a result of off-leash dogs. Specifically, the consultant recommended that dogs be restrained on-leash between 10 am and 3 pm, seven days a week, in order to accommodate "dog averse" people.

However, at a recent meeting of the DFP Advisory Committee, this recommendation was rejected in favor of a more prohibitive one--namely, to BAN dogs from the DFP at all hours on Sundays and Wednesdays, while leaving the off-leash status in place on other days.

This recommendation was chosen in spite of (a) the consultant's finding that fear about potential dog aggression in parks and open spaces "may be exaggerated" and (b) the results of a nonscientific public opinion survey that found that 68% of those surveyed prefer to see dogs off-leash at all times, while only 10% would prefer to see dogs leashed at all times.

It is important to note that several city council members have made it clear that they will oppose any permanent off-leash use of Wilcox/DFP, and city Parks Director Richard Johns has openly stated that all proposals remain on the table, including a total and complete ban of dogs on-or-off leash! Dog PAC continues to lobby for consideration of the historical uses of the property and to keep the property "AS IS," except for additional signage and extra courtesy. Dog PAC also emphasizes the strong role public education must play in our enjoyment of dog activities at the site.

Dog PAC has established a Wilcox/DFP Task Force to work to maintain the property as our only off-leash publicly managed park. Everyone who is interested in helping – in any way, large or small – should contact us.

In Other News...

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Spring Fling & Annual Meeting / Election at Las Positas (aka Elings) Park

The 2nd Annual Dog PAC Spring Fling celebration is set for Saturday, May 22nd from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. This event will also double as our Annual Meeting and Election. Please plan on joining us at Singleton Pavilion, Las Positas / Elings Park.

Joan Russell, the new Executive Director of the Park, has agreed to be the guest speaker for our annual meeting! Please welcome her and find out how we can be helpful in making the park a better place for all user groups. It is imperative that Dog PAC members lend a helping hand in resolving reported user conflict at the park. Failure to respond to these issues constructively may result in termination of off-leash privileges!

Elections will also be held, with any nominations gladly taken from the floor.

Plan to bring your dog(s) and enjoy the party with other Dog PACers! We'd love to make this a "potluck" lunch, so please bring an offering or two if you can. If not, that's fine too. Most importantly, please be a Party Pooper-scooper and help us scour the park as a special "thank you" to our hosts!

BIG DOG Parade !

The annual Santa Barbara Big Dog Parade will take place on June 5th starting at 9:00 am. PLEASE march with us wearing your Dog PAC t-shirt (available now from Kristi @ 682-1822, or you can buy one at our booth at the parade). We need volunteers for both marching with dogs and helping -- please call Steve 569-2005 or Mary Anne 687-9820 to volunteer.

This parade is the biggest dog parade in the state, if not the world. It's vital that we make a show of political force, promote responsible dog ownership, help out the Dog Adoption Welfare Group (DAWG), and have FUN! We have nearly 1,000 members--wouldn't it be cool to have most of us show up?

Pre-enter with Dog PAC by calling Mary Anne at 687-9820 before May 20th, or simply register as an individual and come find us at our booth in De La Guerra Plaza at 8:00-8:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 5th. See you there !

Thank you to the Big Dog Foundation for booth space, the Dogs' Best Friend for a donation of 2,500 Doggie Walk Bags, and, in advance, to Doggie Walk Bags, Inc., for helping us with our display.

Welcome and Thank You!

Welcome to incoming Board Members Daisy Green, Lee Heller, and Lisa Kelly!

Thank you to the members of the Channel City Kennel Club for their generous donation!

Finally, thank you to Ron Stronach, out-going co-president, who is now un-retired and back to his law practice. Ron and Laurie continue to support our efforts, house our fleet of poop scoopers, and bake dee-licious cookies for our loyal companions. Thanks for everything, guys!

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Dog PAC Web Site!

With the generous donation of web server space from Silicon Beach Communications, and the help of volunteer webmaster Julie Kravets, we now have a web site!

Please take advantage of the site for the following important uses:

a) Up-to-the-minute alerts on important meetings and events

b) An archive of all past newsletters

c) Online application to Dog PAC, SB

d) A list of dog-friendly places in Santa Barbara

e) Dog-friendly rental information (for rent and seeking rentals)

If you would like to list information, have ideas for uses of the web site, or have questions, please contact us. You can access the Dog PAC web site at:

http://www.silcom.com/~dogpacsb/