Linda dog park closure – service and process

The following is a time-line of communications between city staff, the Park Commission and The Water Board preceding the closure of the Linda dog park in April, 2025:

January 4, 2023

Update on the Linda Dog park at the Park Commission meeting

PW Director Gonzales: “Its not so much even money but there’s a certain amount of process we are going to have to go through to determine what the appropriate use of that space (Oakland bridge site) is going to be so that’s engagement with the surrounding neighbors and the community overall. There are a few things to consider and we are kind of at the beginning at looking what those possibilities might be but absolutely this Park Commission is going to be involved with that because we are not going to make any of these decisions without bringing it before the Commission and having some discussions about what the possibilities might be, what are thoughts are and all of those things of that nature.”
(1:17:00, https://piedmont.granicus.com/player/clip/2646?view_id=9&redirect=true).

January 2023

Exchanges between council and staff regarding the establishment of an off-leash area at the Oakland Avenue bridge

From: Conna McCarthy
To: Nancy Kent
Subject: Re: Idea for dogs at LInda Beach
Date: Monday, January 30, 2023 5:15:46 PM
When will you and Daniel offer the idea of moving the off leash area across the street and u
see the bridge?

From: Nancy Kent
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2023 3:30:07 PM
To: Conna McCarthy
Subject: RE: Idea for dogs at LInda Beach

Just a heads up, I have spoken with several off leash dog owners that are concerned about when the Linda park will reopen and I have encouraged them to send me their comments or attend our Park Commission meeting. One recent phone call was particularly annoyed that the Park Commission will only be able to hear their comments and not take action at their Feb 1 meeting.
After spending two years on Dracena Park off leash issue, I am trying to keep the discussion positive and even at this early stage, encourage dialog, listen and avoid having each side demonizing the other. I was inspired by Kathleen Suryan ‘s suggestion – her positive response versus going negative.
I will keep you posted and I expect their will be public comments at our next meeting.
Nancy

From: Sent: To:
Cc: Subject:
Mayor Cavenaugh and Councilmembers,
The temporary closure of the Linda Park off-leash area has generated a fair number of emails, phone calls and comments from residents over the last couple of months, and it has also been a topic of discussion at the last few Park Commission meetings. The Park Commission has requested that staff also provide an update at the March 2023 Commission meeting on the medium to long term plans for this space.

March 2023

Park Commission meeting:

Nancy Kent: The ultimate position will be that we will have to close the park to rehabilitate the park and replant the hillside……and in the meantime will be working on what the next options are so for alternative sites or the site itself.

PW Director Gonzales: Part of what we are looking to do is to inform of what we are seeing and help bring everyone along with us as we figure out what is appropriate for that space …. that includes the commissioners and the neighbors and how we get the message out to them and help them understand what the impacts are and at the same time not to be overly alarmist. We want to make sure that some of the things we see are concerning but that some of the things can be appropriately mitigated at this point…..Beyond that we talked about this summer as a period to evaluate the situation ….. we’ll have to have larger discussions with Council about what to do with that space for probably half the year.

Park Commissioner David Johnson: we’ve talked a couple time that inherently this steep park is not a great long-term dog park it has too many fatal flaws…..Temporarily across street there is a great piece of vacant asphalt is never used ….with limited short-term fencing it could become a winter alternative until something more permanent is done…… So rather than think of overengineering a spot it may not be the appropriate spot for an off-leash or at least the bottom 20-30 feet where it really drops off the steepest, and to think of something different without spending large amount lots of money…… So looking at other sites nearby is appropriate and diversifying them within the city. Many of us have ideas and I’m sure we’ll chat more with you about.

PW Director Gonzales: That is a space (Oakland Avenue bridge site) we have looked at and I think it is possible…. but some interest groups have reservations….. That space is absolutely on the table.

39:00, https://piedmont.granicus.com/player/clip/2672?view_id=9&redirect=true (39:00)

April 2024: From the Park Commission’s Annual Report to Council:

“The Commission has received reports from Staff in each of the last two winters about closures of the Linda park off-leash area. We are interested in reviewing options that improve availability of park space for the designated uses and best manage park resources.”

February 2025:

Bay Area Regional Water Quality Control Board notifies City of complaint of run-off at Linda Park dog run, requests a long-term plan from the City and offers a time-extension to the City for its response:

From: Kalyan, Imtiaz-Ali@Waterboards Sent: Thursday, February 6, 2025 7:25 PM
To: Nancy Kent
Cc: Monical, Joseph@Waterboards Subject: Erosion

Good Evening Nancy,
We recently received the following complaint concerning sediment erosion from a city dog park in Piedmont, CA. According to the complaint, soil and dog excrement is washing down the slope and onto the roadway and flowing down gradient towards Lake Merritt. The photos included are a bit troubling. I look forward to hearing from you soon about measures the city is taking to address this water quality concern.
Regards, Ali

From: Kalyan, Imtiaz-Ali@Waterboards
Sent: Monday, March 3, 2025 2:11 PM
To: Deniz Ergun
Cc: Monical, Joseph@Waterboards ; Daniel Gonzales ; Nancy Kent ; Nordenholt, Rebecca@Waterboards
Subject: RE: Erosion

Good Afternoon Deniz,
Thanks for introducing yourself and for including the letter describing the city’s ongoing erosion control measures at Linda Ave. Dog Park. While the use of straw wattles and silt bags, following the heavy rains, is encouraging, the nature of the topography and the current land use practices demands more appropriate and long-term erosion control measures. Furthermore, the installed full-trash capture device at the closest catch basin is not sufficient to control for sediment runoff and canine waste excrement from being transported into the catch basin and impacting downstream receiving waters. Please submit a more detailed analysis of next steps and long term appropriate BMPs and/or control measures the city is looking to install at the dog park by March 24, 2025. Let me know if you need additional time or would like to meet via Teams to discuss this further.
Sincerely,
Imtiaz-Ali Kalyan | Water Resource Control Engineer San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board

April 2, 2025

Park Commission meeting

In his routine update on the Linda dog park, Director Gonzales made no mention of the complaint received by the Water Board, city communications with the agency nor the imminent staff recommendation to close the park.

56:00, https://piedmont.granicus.com/player/clip/3060?view_id=9&redirect=true

April 7, 2025: City Council meeting, Council votes to eliminate the Linda Dog Park.

Councilmember Long: “And do we have an approximate cost if we where to move [the dog park] across the street (to the Oakland Avenue bridge)? “
PW Director Gonsalez: “Yes and when we looked at this about a year or two ago it was in the low couple of hundred of thousands of dollars.”

1:42:00, https://piedmont.granicus.com/player/clip/3061?view_id=9&redirect=true

April 24, 2025

Internal communication between Water Board staff regarding resolution of the Linda dog park complaint

From: Lichten, Keith@Waterboards
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2025 2:04 PM
To: White, Eileen@Waterboards
Cc: Kalyan, Imtiaz-Ali@Waterboards ; Nordenholt, Rebecca@Waterboards
April 24, 2025: Internal Regional Water Board Communication

From: Lichten, Keith@Waterboards
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2025 2:04 PM
To: White, Eileen@Waterboards
Cc: Kalyan, Imtiaz-Ali@Waterboards ; Nordenholt, Rebecca@Waterboards
Rebecca.Nordenholt@waterboards.ca.gov

Subject: Piedmont Dog Park Update

Eileen,

I followed up with Ali and Rebecca regarding the Piedmont dog park. Ali’s response was exactly what we want.

We received complaints from a member of the public about erosion and dog waste at the park, and Ali reviewed conditions at the park and determined that the sediment and dog waste could discharge to a nearby storm drain inlet (and probably does during the rainy season). Ali reached out to the City to pass along both the complaint and his concerns. The City let him know about some interim measures they had implemented. They weren’t adequate, so Ali asked them to develop a plan to make more permanent, long-term improvements and we agreed with the City on a due date. The City developed three options, but before they submitted the plan to us, apparently the City Council chose the option that stopped dog use.

This was a surprise to us, as we thought they were on the path to making changes to continue the dog use there. Ali’s engagement was constructive and we never discussed fines/penalties with them. Our conversation was around the measures needed to have a dog park that’s not discharging sediment or dog waste to the storm drain.

Please let us know if you’d like to discuss.
Regards,
-Keith

_____________________________________________________________________________________

These communications and statements demonstrate that since January 2023 City staff, neighbors and possibly Council members were discussing the establishment of a fenced off-leash dog run in the area between the Linda Beach playfield and the Oakland Avenue bridge. Communications by staff indicate that cost estimates for such a project were available at least a year ago if not more.

These communications and statements also indicate that by March 2023 the Park Commission was aware that staff was examining the Oakland bridge site as an off-leash area and was expecting to discuss this and solutions to the Linda Dog park matter at its meetings. The fact that those discussions did not occur lead the Park Commission to express its interest in reviewing these matters in its April 2024 Report to Council. In that report the consensus of the Park Commission was to review solutions for maintaining the Linda Dog park, not relocating it to another location.

These communications also indicate that the Water Board was fully expecting to receive a long-term BMP plan from the city to continue use of the dog park. Water Board staff indicated that it never discussed fines/penalties with the city staff.

In the April 2025 City Council discussions of the Linda dog park, the Park Commission and Water Board were characterized as supporting closure of the park but these communications show that characterization to be false. Indeed, both parties, particularly the Water Board, were interested in considering measures that could keep some or all of the dog park open. Given the Board’s willingness to work with the city, it’s disappointing that city staff did not engage with the agency in a more protracted negotiation to fix the park, and to include the Park Commission in that discussion.

Throughout meetings at the Park Commission and City Council, staff touted its commitment to “service and process” but provided neither in its poor resolution of the Linda dog park matter. Hopefully it will better engage with the Park Commission, the public and users of the dog parks as it undertakes its sustainability analysis of the city’s parks.