Dogs Back on Agenda in RPV

Rancho Palos Verdes City Council members tonight will consider a partnership with other Peninsula cities to push forward plans for a regional dog park at the former Palos Verdes Landfill.

Members will weigh different off-leash dog park ideas, including a staff recommendation to join with other Peninsula cities to reconfirm interest in a dog park at the landfill, first expressed to the county years ago.

The cities of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates first sent letters in 2010 to Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe expressing support for a park at the landfill site. The city of Rolling Hills was not involved in the effort because dogs are currently allowed off-leash within the city.

The county would have to amend its laws to allow off-leash dog parks and conduct an environmental analysis on the landfill site before considering the Peninsula park, according to a city report. The earliest the county would consider a dog park at the former landfill is August of next year.

Besides the staff recommendation to pursue a dog park at the landfill, council members will also consider a joint effort with Palos Verdes cities to find other locations on the Peninsula for a dog park, in addition to limiting the search to Rancho Palos Verdes.

The city currently has a contract with Mia Lehrer and Associates for dog and skate park site analysis. If council members vote to pursue a park at the former landfill, the dog park analysis would be dropped from the contract.

The former landfill would be a "promising location" according to a city report that cited support from neighboring cities, in addition to the size and location of the proposed park.

"A regional dog park would be able to accommodate the pent up demand for off-leash dog recreation in the community, which would lessen the burden on individual neighborhoods should Peninsula cities decide to develop additional, but likely smaller, dog park(s) at other locations," the report said.

The council received its first community requests for a dog park in mid-2008. In April, members at Rancho Palos Verdes Beach that would have turned the popular, unofficial dog beach into the real deal for pet owners across the county who frequented the spot.

At the April meeting, council members of a dog park at the former Palos Verdes Landfill.

The council tonight will also consider funding temporary "dog days" at city park sites in the coming months for off-leash use.

Tonight's meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at , 29301 Hawthorne Blvd.