Lake Forest will be getting our first dog park on November 24. Almost all of our surrounding cities have dog parks (e.g., Irvine, Mission Viejo, Laguna Beach, Costa Mesa, Laguna Woods, etc.) and it’s about time we got one, although our first dog park will be among the smallest of the dog parks in the County.
The play area for small dogs will be 3,400 square feet and the play area for large dogs will be 5,300 square feet. The entire area, including parking, is only 21,000 square feet.
The park is located on Baffin Bay, which is on the left hand side as you travel East on Bake Parkway, just before you get to Baker Ranch.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The park was part of the original Developer Agreement between the City and Baker Ranch, but the developers decided that a dog park would not fit inside their conception of the 2,300+ new homes being added to the City. Long-time resident Bob Holzclaw alerted me to the fact that the park had been removed from the drawing boards, and I spoke with then Deputy City Manager Dave Belmer, insisting that the developers fulfill their legally required promise of a dog park. Dave met with the Shea Baker Ranch officials and together they came up with the space on Baffin Bay, requiring cooperation between the City, Baker Ranch, and the owners of the storage facility nearby.
The City Council provided feedback on the design for the dog park at its August 5, 2014 meeting. The Parks and Recreation Commission provided comments on the design of the dog park at its September 18, 2014 meeting. I met with Dave Belmer after that for some final tweaks. Shea Baker agreed to pay the entire costs, which are in excess of $1,000,000.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The City will assume ownership of the improvements and all responsibility for maintaining the park once it is complete. The new park will be called Barker Ranch Dog Park and will have the following amenities and features:
- · separate entrances and play areas for large and small dogs
- · water for visitors and their pets
- · benches
- · perimeter fencing
- · a shade structure over the entrances to the dog play areas
- · artificial turf
- · an adjacent parking area.
The event will take place from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm on Tuesday November 24. The event will include refreshments and treats for people and dogs and a ribbon-cutting ceremony near the entrance to the play area for dogs. The City will offer giveaways and have tables and chairs set up for refreshments and participants.
I’ve asked that the County Animal Care to have an adoption booth available as well. Parks Director Scott Wasserman is going to try to make that happen.
I hope to see you there.
Tomorrow let’s talk about a Dog Park Committee.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.
Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a Town Hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be on Dec 12 at 2 pm at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.
tC
