Dog Owners May be Fined For Using Playing Fields

Following concerns that dogs are damaging Dapper and Heasley fields by defecating, urinating and digging on them, the City Council discussed banning dogs from the playing fields altogether at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Service and police dogs would be exempt.

The ordinance states that enforcement officers could fine first-time violators without issuing a warning first.

Warnings typically precede fines in Sierra Madre, but Pat Alcorn, Vice Chair of the Community Services Commission, said that in this case, a first-time fine would be appropriate.

“[The CSC] wanted something stiffer,” said Alcorn. “It’s been a problem for several years and it’s finally gotten to the point where it’s really bad.”

The first fine could be $100, but so far nothing has been decided and the ordinance has not been passed. The Council will continue their discussion at their next meeting on February 28.

There is a dog park in Sierra Vista Park near the playing fields for small and large dogs.

Currently, dogs are allowed in any park in Sierra Madre so long as they are on a leash, and are permitted to go off-leash in enclosed areas. In November the CSC in an effort to deter dog owners from letting them run free. However, field damage has continued to occur.

Resident Barbara Leigh Cline suggested that coyotes, not dogs, could be damaging the playing fields, but Alcorn insisted that it is indeed local dogs.