HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/2/2021 Item 05, McKenzie
Wilbanks, Megan
From:John McKenzie <
To:E-mail Council Website
Cc:Hill, Robert; Avakian, Greg
Subject:2-2-21 City Council Item #5 2020 Open Space Annual Report
Dear City Council,
As this is the last report for this 5-year cycle, I will guess that staff will soon be working on (completing?) the next 5-year
Plan for Open Space protection. As the City currently supports about 13,000 dogs, we need to include a better way to
recognize our dogs in our planning process. Success appears on the horizon in our upcoming Parks and Recreation
Master Plan update which will (finally) recognize enclosed dog parks as a high priority. While this is great news for many
dog owners, there are many dog owners that would also like having one or more long hiking trails to take their dogs off-
leash.
While it does not appear any assessment of our open space on the quality of habitat or wildlife has been performed,
such an assessment would be helpful to determine if there are areas with low habitat and/or wildlife quality. Such an
effort could better identify possible trails that could be considered appropriate for off-leash dogs.
One such Open Space area currently seems to fall into this category, which would be the large fenced flat area
immediately north of the off-leash dog area at Laguna Lake. There currently is a 'loop' within this fenced area starting
with a narrow hiking trail that follows the base of the hill and then splits either towards Cerro San Luis (Madonna
mountain) or Laguna Lake. Taking the Laguna Lake split follow this until the next split and taking the 'transmission road
trail' to the starting point. This is about a one-mile loop. The habitat around this described ‘loop’ includes mostly non-
native grasses. Historically, it has been used for horse grazing. Wildlife is mostly limited to small common mammals (e.g.,
mice, squirrels and gophers). Larger transient wildlife (raptors, water fowl, deer, coyotes, etc.) may occasionally be seen
on these grasslands. When compared to most other open space areas, this area has a relatively low habitat and wildlife
value. While the existing conservation easement may include restrictive language for off-leash dogs, such language can
be amended.
There are many dogs that can be kept under full control with strong human bonds that keep them close to their owners
during off-leash hikes. It is true that some dogs will take interest in flushing/chasing prey along the trails for a short
distance. If such wildlife is common, the impacts should be considered insignificant. In open fields, birds will quickly take
flight out of harm’s way of dogs taking an interest and land outside of the dog’s interest zone. As the dogs are on a hike
with their human companions, they will not have time to damage any of the surrounding vegetation (no time to dig).
Would this not be a wonderful opportunity during the next 5-year cycle plan to explore ways to make our City a ‘world
class’ example of a dog-friendly city while still preserving those parts of our Open Space lands that have important
vegetation and wildlife values? Thank you for your consideration.
John McKenzie
Friends of SLO City Dog Parks
Slocitydogs.org
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