Dog owners want a dog park at the Takoma Recreation Center, but not everyone supports it.

A non-profit organization of Takoma neighbors called the Northern Ward 4 Dog Park Group (the Dog Park Group) has been trying since 2011 to build a dog park on land of the Takoma Recreation Center (the TRC).  But another community-based organization - known as the Friends of Takoma Recreation Center (the Friends Group) - is opposed to building a dog park at the current location (3rd and Underwood Streets) and anywhere else around the TRC.

Satellite view of proposed location of dog park

Last week the Friends Group, established in 1997, held a quarterly meeting and opposition to the Dog Park Group was on their agenda.  Because the Friends' Group meeting was public, some members of the Dog Park Group attended to listen to concerns.  I was in attendance too.  The Dog Park Group is composed of neighbors from Takoma, Brightwood, Manor Park and Shepherd Park.  The Friends Group meeting was initially cordial when the focus of the meeting was on providing equal access to the tennis courts at the TRC and other administrative matters to manage the TRC more efficiently.

But the Friends Group cordial attitude changed when it turned its attention to the Dog Park Group's application to build a dog park at the TRC.  At this point John Stokes, the Deputy Director for the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), was also present to listen to the discussion.  Mr. Stokes obviously knew the issues well and was mostly there to listen to the Friends Group.  The Friends Group was critical of DPR's process; specifically that DPR's process was flawed.

DPR's Dog Park Process - Input or Comment?

As argued by the Friends Group, DPR's current application process provides local residents with 30-days to comment on an application to build a dog park but this occurs after DPR receives an application and selects a site to build the dog park.  Despite the fact that the Friends Group were able to organize an opposition petition during the comment period, members of the Friends Group complained to DPR that they should be given the opportunity to provide input for the site selection of any proposed dog park at the TRC.  As noted by Mr. Stokes at the meeting, DPR's process has worked well for every other dog park application in DC (12 and counting) since the rules were written in 2005, but apparently the Friends Group felt the process is flawed and unfair.

At this point some members of the Dog Park Group noted that the Friends Group repeatedly refused to engage with the Dog Park Group when offered the chance to provide input.  The Dog Park Group allegedly has proof of their attempts to engage the Friends Group.  The Dog Park Group also delivered info sheets to neighbors surrounding the TRC.  In addition, the Dog Park Group noted that the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC-4B) held a special meeting about the Dog Park Group's proposed application and included members of ANC-4A, DPR, the DC Department of Health, the Washington Humane Society and representatives from the Brightwood and Manor Park community associations.  DPR's regulations do not require that applications have a formal letter of support from their local ANC per se, but such a letter of support is persuasive to DPR.  ANC-4B ultimately provided a formal letter of support based upon a vote of its members.

Does Takoma need a Dog Park?

As noted in its application, many of the Dog Park Group's members live up to three miles away from the nearest dog park.  The Dog Park Group was able to garner the largest number of signatures for any dog park application that DPR has ever seen, and the TRC zip code has the second-largest number of registered dogs in DC.  The Dog Park Group also stated in their application that the TRC has over six (6) acres of unused or underused space, which is quite a luxury in DC but not surprising since the TRC is about 17 acres in size.  The Dog Park Group asked DPR to build a dog park that would be around 10,000 square feet in size, which is not terribly large when compared to other dog parks throughout DC (e.g. the Shaw dog park is 13,500 square feet in a much more dense neighborhood).

It would seem that there are plenty of reasons for DPR to build this dog park.  There are lots of nearby registered dog owners, strong community desire as evidenced by the Dog Park Group's petition, a formal ANC resolution of support and a DPR site that can clearly provide the space needed to build the dog park.  So why is the Friends Group opposing it?  Is it really about the DPR process?  I spoke with a few people after the Friends Group meeting and heard a few comments that suggested otherwise - for example, that dog parks smell, that they're noisy, and one long-standing local resident said this opposition was really about gentrification.  Nobody I spoke with from the Friends Group suggested that there are better locations in Takoma - just that a dog park is wrong for the TRC.  But there's no denying that the current proposed site location is directly across the street from a group of houses on 3rd Street, NW.

Closeup view of proposed dog park location and nearby houses.

In the end, however, the Friends Group got the special treatment they asked for - Mr. Stokes not only agreed to extend the comment period for an additional 30-days, he even promised that DPR would hold a special meeting of its own about the proposed dog park.  What do you think?  Is this fair to the Dog Park Group who followed DPR's rules?  Does Takoma need a dog park?