'It's a monstrosity': Summerland residents continue to clash over dog parks

It has been years of struggle for Summerland to find a suitable spot for a larger off-leash dog park, and with council considering making a trial spot at Peach Orchard Beach a permanent one, residents are once again voicing their displeasure

The district has had a battle between the strong canine-owning contingency of the community pushing for more off-leash area access, while others in the community have concerns about a loss of viable sports playing fields or impacts on areas should the pooches proliferate.

Potential locations kept being dismissed by both sides, with owners left wondering: Where can Rover run free?

The district then started with a temporary off-leash dog park in place at Dale Meadows Park on a pilot basis, after council voted down a proposed permanent installation of a 0.27 acre small dog run and 0.78 acre large dog run in 2022.

Then in 2023, temporary fencing was placed at Peach Orchard Beach Park to create a pop-up one-acre off-leash dog park at the beginning of May.

A significant amount of feedback was received over the trial period between May 5 to Sept. 13, 2023.

Initially, Summerland council voted to try another temporary off-leash dog park before they decided whether a permanent one would be set up in the community.

After reaching out to the Lutheran Church for a second time to see if they would be open to hosting a temporary pop-up dog park, and being denied, council went back to the drawing board.

Temporary fencing remains in place at the Peach Orchard Beach for the time being.

On Nov. 7, Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes and council requested staff to come back with a report on the Peach Orchard Beach Dog Park during the upcoming budget deliberations, and to present options for council to consider including size options for the dog park, additional amenities and improved parking.

Community response previously collected by the district showed residents above Peach Orchard Beach Park in Tuscan Terrace were displeased with the location, while the general public has voices both in support of and against the pop-up park.

The district's report states that of the 139 responses they received, 82 (59 per cent) were supportive of the dog park and desired for it to continue to be a dog park, 50 (36 per cent) were not supportive of the dog park and requested that it be removed and seven (five per cent) provided comments, but not an opinion.

A group of concerned residents, called "Restore Peach Orchard Park," met with Castanet near the dog park to share their thoughts on why they believe it is the wrong location.

Mark Hubbell, who lives in Tuscan Terrace, told Castanet he hears the dogs start barking around 5 a.m.

“The main concern is this area used to be a recreation area, and you'd see people playing Frisbee. There was fly fishing lessons, yoga going on, lots of volleyball, kids and people from the park coming down here … And since the dog park, that's pretty much gone away,” he claimed.

“We're disappointed in the decision. There's many other areas for dog parks and to take away [this park], [making it] exclusively for dogs ... Just doesn't make any sense. ”

Another citizen in the group agreed, adding that he felt the community was giving up more than half of the area, which is adjacent to a playground, to a permanent dog park.

“It's a monstrosity,” Les Brough said. “My main concern is that the district is about 12,000 people and so this belongs to the district, to everybody.”

“The dog park owners, obviously like it, they had a petition, and why wouldn't they like it. But the dogs don't care whether they're looking at the lake, as long as the odd tree around, that's all they want. And somewhere to run.”

Holmes said the choice to have staff cost out the park and amenities comes down to the area being popular and one of the few areas that checks the boxes.

“The problem with Summerland is that we don't have a lot of space to put anything. Whether it's a dog park or pickleball courts or a solar power generation array, high density housing, anything where we try to look, there are people who are upset by it and that's just the reality of our community,” he said.

“No location is perfect. We know that. And so it's a difficult decision, there's no easy answer. Do you put it in, in the best position? Or, do you keep looking for the perfect location that really doesn't exist?”

Unsolicited by the District of Summerland, the Summerland Dog Owners Association conducted their own survey about Summerland dog parks over the summer, compiling positive Facebook comments in support of the Peach Orchard trial dog park, and collected 519 signatures of people who support “the large [one-acre] Pop-up Dog Park at Peach Orchard Park to be made a permanent amenity."

Dog owners in the group remain vocal that they want to see a safe, accessible, fully fenced dog park solidified.

One dog owner expressed how happy he and his a four year old labradoodle were to have the Peach Orchard Beach park.

“It's a big enough park that the dogs get lots of exercise. It's a beautiful setting which we also enjoy, especially in summer,” Ken Gray said, adding that both the dog beach and the dog park at Dale Meadows are very small.

“The reality is for so many of us, the dogs and dog parks enrich our lives and the life of our community. We need places where we can gather. And there are folks who say frankly, that dogs should be out of sight out of mind in Summerland generally. And they propose places at the edge of town, which are in many cases nowhere near as beautiful as this.”

The group against the park has started their own petition, amassing more than 650 signatures to “restore Peach Orchard Park to its original state, before the dog park was created.”

Members said they have further concern with a possible environmental impact, both in bothering local wildlife and with the area being a riparian zone.

Holmes assured that as they have done with projects in the past, any environmental regulations will be followed and researched.

“If any environmental studies are required to to make a permanent park, we will complete those studies.”

The Restore Peach Orchard Park group is expected to present in front of council at the Dec. 19 meeting.

“It's a difficult decision when there's no easy answers and there's different opinions on council. We're reflecting the community, which has different opinions as well and we continue to listen,” Holmes said.