Park issue goes to the dogs

Dave Brooks

Dog owners are squaring off with a major utility company over new

rules imposed for a number of Surf City public parks.

Residents in southeast Huntington Beach are concerned about a new

city ordinance banning dogs from area parkland owned by Southern

California Edison. Dog-owners have used the park for decades to walk

and play with their pets, but Edison officials said the land was

never intended for dogs, which could cause future liability and

access issues.

Caught in the middle of the debate is the city of Huntington

Beach, which originally lobbied to continue to allow dogs in the

park, only to later concede to Edison and pass an ordinance banning

dogs from parkland owned by Edison. The city leases the land from the

utility giant at a greatly discounted rate, and risked losing about

38 acres of park, mostly along Magnolia Avenue.

Now all sides are back to the negotiating table, trying to hammer

out an agreement that meets the needs of dog owners and the liability

concerns of Edison. Company officials expect to make an announcement

this week.

“We’re hoping they will come up with some type of compromise,”

area resident and dog owner Russ Goodwin said.

Many residents were surprised when the City Council passed a May

16 resolution banning dogs from five Edison-owned city parks: Gisler

Park, which runs from Bushard to Brookhurst streets between Atlanta

and Hamilton avenues; Lebard Park near the Santa Ana River and

Indianapolis Avenue; Arevalos Park, which is upstream from Lebard

Park; Lagenbeck Park, which crosses Magnolia Street between Garfield

and Yorktown avenues, and parts of Edison Park across the street from

Edison High School.

Huntington Beach resident Melanie Guiver has been taking her

Bedlington terrier to Lagenbeck Park for several years. She said the

new rules would make it impossible for her to access a smaller

city-owned park near Lagenbeck.

“(Under the new ordinance) I’m not allowed to open my gate and

carry my dogs across to get to city property,” she said. “This is why

I bought my house here.”

Dogs have always been banned from all Edison properties in

Southern California, spokesperson Jerry Dominguez said. Huntington

Beach law allows dogs in all city parks and city officials lobbied

the company to change its contract to allow leashed animals in the

park. The discrepancy between city law and Edison policy was

discovered during the property’s recent leasing agreement. Edison

officials wouldn’t budge and the city eventually passed a new

ordinance banning animals at Edison parks.

Most of the park space is dotted with utility lines and

power-generating equipment, but the parks are some of the few open

spaces left in Southeast Huntington Beach.

The city has leased the property for the past four to five

decades, and is currently paying about $200 an acre, or about $7,300

a year -- a greatly reduced rate compared to the $2,500-per-acre

market-lease value of the property, Dominguez said.

The low rates can be problematic for Edison -- Dominguez said the

company has a difficult time justifying rate increases to the Public

Utilities Commission when it’s not getting the full value out of all

its assets.

Yet, the dog debate could also turn into a public relations

debacle for the company -- nearby dog-owners have already organized

an advocacy group titled D.O.G.S.T.O.P or Dog Owners Getting Southern

California Edison to Open Parks. In recent weeks, the group has been

actively lobbying the City Council and negotiating several compromise

deals with Edison. They include a proposal to charge a licensing fee

to dog owners who use the park, or the creation of a park corridor

for dogs to access city parks near Edison properties.

“In the end, I think either dogs are going to be allowed on

leashes, or no dogs will be allowed, period,” Dominguez said. “I see

it going one way or another.”

City Councilman Keith Bohr, the lone vote against the ordinance,

said the city has already agreed to indemnify Edison of any potential

liability. He also questioned the real danger of allowing dogs on

leashes to use the park.

“Is there really any more liability than someone falling down on

their Rollerblades?” he said. “We seem to have responsible dog

owners. We need to somehow let those folks utilize the park space.”

Until signs are posted, area dog owners said they plan to continue

to walk their dogs in the park.

“If the signs go up, that’s a whole different story,” Goodwin

said. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

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