Dog park moves to next step

Summerland council went through the details for the permanent fully-fenced dog park on Tuesday, debating whether to include a dog beach in the plans for the permanent park.

The controversial temporary dog park set up at Peach Orchard Beach was voted into permanency this summer.

Council opted to create a pop-up one-acre off-leash dog park at the beginning of May last year, following years of struggle for Summerland to find a suitable spot for a larger off-leash dog park.

The district has seen a battle between the canine-owning contingency of the community pushing for more off-leash area access, and others in the community worried about a loss of viable sports playing fields, impacts on more areas should pooches proliferate, and noise.

Summerland started with a temporary off-leash dog park at Dale Meadows Park on a pilot basis, after council voted down a proposed permanent installation of a 0.27 acre small dog run and 0.78 acre large dog run in 2022.

Then in 2023, the temporary fencing was placed at Peach Orchard Beach Park to create a pop-up one-acre off-leash dog park at the beginning of May.

A significant amount of feedback was received over the trial period between May 5 to Sept. 13, 2023.

Members of a petition group against the park met with Castanet in December to express their displeasure, while multiple dog owners using the park cheered its success.

Summerland council voted to try another temporary off-leash dog park last fall before they decided whether a permanent one would be set up in the community, which didn't come to fruition.

Since then, another location hasn't been formally proposed and the fencing remains in place. In the 2024 budget deliberations, $50,000 was included for establishing a permanent fence dog park, but the location was not part of the budget discussions.

In June, council gave the green light for Peach Orchard Beach to be made permanent.

Council had the choice on Tuesday between a 1-acre dog park estimated at $48,000, a 1-acre dog park & phased-in dog beach estimated at $72,000, or a combined dog park and dog beach estimated at $73,000, including a new pathway is $55,000.

Staff recommended option one as its within the budget and the simplest option.

All the cost estimations did not include expenses for surveying, locates, grading, or contingency.

Coun. Richard Barkwill voted against supporting option one, as he liked the idea better for a combined dog park and dog beach.

The next steps for the project include in-house engineers completing a detailed site survey and confirming any site grading requirements, a site survey to determine if a Watercourse Development Permit is required or not and request for approval from the province.

If provincial approval is granted, then the district will issue a request for quotes for the fencing and gates and conduct site grading as required.

Then crews can install the permanent fencing.

Council will discuss plans for the autolocks, accessible pathways and main entrance gate surfacing costing options during 2025 budget deliberations.

Option one was approved, with Barkwill opposed.