HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/4/2026 Item 4a, McKenzie
John McKenzie <
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:2/4/26 PRC Meeting - Item 4A - Emerson Park Revitalization
Attachments:PRC-Emerson Park.pdf
Dear PRC Commissioners,
Please see our attached letter to keep the conceptually-approved dog park as part of the revitalization plan for
Emerson Park. Should you have any questions, please let me know. Thank you.
John McKenzie
Friends of SLO City Dog Parks
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SLOCITYDOGS.ORG
Friends of SLO City Dog Parks
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February 2, 2026
City of SLO Parks and Recreation Commission
RE: PRC 2-4-26 Meeting - Item 4a - Dog Park at Emerson Park
Dear Commissioners,
Friends of SLO City Dog Parks (Friends) would first like to thank your Commission and City staff for their efforts of getting
the Emerson Park Revitalization Plan to this point. Countless hours and days were spent by you and staff at the
beginning towards your outreach effort to hear from the community before approving the existing design. As a result,
the current plan includes a very much needed dog park. Friends supports this inclusion for a range of reasons, including
it being consistent with Parks and Recreation’s Blueprint for the Future (Blueprint), the need at its current location, the
direction the City is going for residential development downtown, and the physical and mental well-being of dogs and
humans.
Need for a dog park at Emerson
As the downtown area is completely built out there will NEVER be another opportunity to find a half-acre of land that
could be dedicated for such a use, EVER. National studies show that 35.7% of households have dogs and of those
households each has an average of 1.6 dogs. For this mostly residential neighborhood (Blueprint defines the
neighborhood of this park as being ½ mile around the park), there are well over 2,000 homes, or at least 1,140 dogs
within walking distance. At a citywide level, using the same dog density criteria, the City currently has over 13,000 dogs.
As of last year, the City has one fenced dog park at Laguna Lake Park. The pent-up need for such parks could not be
more clearly demonstrated then how heavily used this dog park is. Unfortunately, it is so heavily used the grassy areas
have suffered greatly. This problem could be partially alleviated if there were more dog parks throughout the City.
Parks and Recreation’s Blueprint for the Future
The Parks and Recreation Commission spent years developing the 2021 Parks and Recreation’s Blueprint for the Future
(Blueprint) to help guide its decisions on future recreational uses. The Blueprint identified dog parks as a high priority
recreational use and this use was whole-heartedly and expressly supported by the City Council. Further, the Blueprint
divided the City into six sections and identified core recreational uses which included dog parks as one of those core
uses. The following are a few examples of Blueprint sections that speak to parks and their need for recreational diversity
and inclusivity, multi-generational activities and walkability:
Blueprint Preamble – “Key considerations for the enhancement and redevelopment of existing parks and the
development of new parkland will be striking a balance between active and passive recreational use, maintaining
neighborhood character, ensuring high quality design and maintenance, and optimizing resources and inclusion
by providing multi-generational, multi-use, and multi-ability amenities and facilities”.
Blueprint Guiding Theme – Inclusion and Access – “The City’s parks, public spaces, recreation amenities and
programs will be accessible to residents and visitors, including the full diversity of our community”
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“Building Community. Parks, facilities, and programs will encourage and support play, health, and interaction.
The City will provide places to engage in a multitude of recreational activities, including supporting new trends in
recreation. The physical infrastructure and amenities of parks and facilities will support and promote public
health. Parks, facilities, and programs will provide opportunities for people to engage in activities together, as
well as to be active independently.”
Blueprint’s Spotlight On… section discusses Climate and reference the Active Transportation Plan and Climate
Action Plan on the City’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality with a 20% reduction by 2030. To achieve this the
City would need to focus on promoting biking and walking. A neighborhood dog park would encourage over 700
homes within ½ mile to walk their dogs to the dog park (and not have to drive to one).
Blueprint’s ‘Meet the Changing Needs’ chapter speaks to Emerson and a greater need to focus on the older
crowd.
The Blueprint Park Assessment for Emerson – recognizes that a dog park is an appropriate use at this
neighborhood park.
The City’s Blueprint evaluates existing recreational facilities and future needs. For example, it identifies that
there are 26 existing playgrounds/tot lots with a future buildout need of only two more. This small 10% increase
is based on the age demographic trends with a substantial increase of people 55 and older living here and fewer
families with children. This same assessment identifies one existing dog park, an immediate need for a second
one, and an additional need of 4 or 5 more at buildout (a 500 to 600% increase in the need for dog parks at
buildout).
The US Census shows that children 18 and under make up about 10% of the City’s population of 49,729, or about 4,973
children. On the other hand, dogs are in over one third of all households, and total over 13,000 within the City limits.
All of the above clearly demonstrates there is a very strong need and desire for dog parks and supports the Blueprint’s
goal to increase the diversity of park users for this neighborhood park.
Development trends
The neighborhood around the park includes a large residential component. It is a mix of low and medium density
residential homes. The City is growing and there is a high demand for more residences, preferably more affordable. The
State has made it easy for low density homes to add an Accessory Dwelling Unity (ADU) or Junior ADU, which will likely
displace most backyards, and potentially increase the residential density two- to three-fold within walking distance of
the park. Downtown, the City is encouraging multi-story buildings with the upper floors being designed for residential
use. With this new residential growth will come more dogs that will need a place to run and play. There will be no other
downtown opportunity for a dog park.
Proposed dog park
• There will NEVER be another ½-acre area available in the downtown area for an enclosed dog park, EVER; there
are no other downtown city parks with this type of available acreage; future funding for recreational
opportunities will continue to be a challenge.
• Having a fenced dog park (with separation for big and small dogs) provides a safe and legal place to allow dogs
to run, play and socialize.
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• Having legal places to let dogs run will reduce the number of potential $500+ citations the City can issue for dogs
running off leash in areas not intended for dogs.
• Having a second dog park will provide some relief to the new and now heavily used Laguna Lake Dog Park.
• Costs. If grass is kept, there would be initial costs to restore to better conditions (new grass planted, new
irrigation lines installed); long-term maintenance when compared to a dog park will be much more costly, where
the grass would need to be mowed weekly, watered several times a week, regularly weeded and fertilized.
• Water. While we have enjoyed average rainfall over the last few years, we also experience many successive
years of drought and the need to cut back on water use. Watering a 20,000 sq. ft. section of lawn uses about
12,500 gallons per watering; during the summer, usually about 2-3 waterings a week are needed. Applying this
for 8 months would result in the consumption of 534,000 gallons or 1.6 acre feet per year. With this dog park
using wood chips (no grass), this is how much water would be saved yearly.
• Parking – from the dog park perspective, if someone wants to drive to a dog park they will go to Laguna Lake DP
– it is much bigger, has grass and agility equipment to play on. While the grass field area would be reduced by
less than half, some of the grass activities could be reduced. For activities involving children, especially young
children, there is a good chance they were driven to the park. If parking is a current problem, this reduction
could improve parking space availability around the park.
• Walkability - There are over 2000 homes or 1,400 potential dogs within walking distance (1/2 mile) of Emerson
Park – those are the people we hope this dog park will serve. As future residential density will likely increase,
there will be even more dogs within walking distance in the future
• Having a downtown dog park will also capture the downtown dog-loving tourists and visitors, as they will have a
safe and friendly place within walking distance to let their dogs loose during their downtown stay (1/6 of all
tourists traveling by car will bring their dog(s) along).
Dog and human benefits
• Physical health – for dogs, a dog park is large enough for them to run at full speed to chase a ball or when
playing with other dogs, something they cannot do on a leashed walk; for the 2,000+ homes within a half mile,
humans can easily walk their dog there, getting exercise. Further, being able to walk the dog some distance
before entering the dog park reduces some of the excitement energy typical of dogs when entering the park.
Being able to fully exercise your dog at the dog park will help dissipate pent-up energy. If this energy is not
released at the dog park, the dog will try to find other ways, sometimes very destructive, to release it when
home.
• Mental health – for dogs – mental stimulation is just as important as having physical activities. The act of chasing
a ball or interaction of play between dogs provides that mental stimulation. Having a place to socialize a dog is
another important aspect of a dog park – the greater exposure, especially early in a dog’s life, to other dogs
makes the dog feel more comfortable with them to be able to get on with the important things, like playing.
For humans, interacting with their dog strengthens that mental bond. It is also very common that dog-owning
people will have a common place to start a conversation and ‘break the ice’ of talking to strangers, sometimes
forming into future meet-ups and friendly relations. As these owners range widely in age, it also helps break
through the generational gap. With our current technologically-based world with everyone just looking at their
phones, we need to promote more things to break us from this increasing isolation from the rest of the world.
And lastly, there are those that do not have dogs (but love them), and get great satisfaction of just walking to
the dog park and watching other dogs play.
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• Reactive dogs – there are some dogs that are controlling, do not play well with others or are unvaccinated, and
do not belong at a dog park. There will be posted rules to keep out such dogs. These dog owners should know
not to bring such dogs to the dog park.
Conclusion
Based on the above, Friends asks for your continued support to keep the conceptually-approved dog park in place, and
encourage staff to work as fast as possible to get this renovation project completed. We thank you for your past support
of approving the Buildout of the Future and for the highly successful Laguna Lake Dog Park. Should you have any
questions, please feel free to contact me.
May your half empty glass always appear half full,
John McKenzie
Friends of SLO City Dog Parks