OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) -- After years of not having an open space for dog lovers to take their furry friends, the City of Oceanside is working to bring an off-leash site to the area.
City leaders said an underdeveloped space at the Ron Ortega Recreation Park will house the space for dogs.
Friday, Dec. 15, is the final day for community members to fill out a survey to let the city know what they would like to see at the off-leash site.
Neighbor Richard Beard said he takes his 1-year-old dog, Tucker, through the dirt and gravel lot a few times a day.
“I know a lot of other people who have dogs around here and they're excited about it,” said Beard.
The city said it is making this site accessible for pet families after it was forced to close its only off-leash site back in 2018.
Oceanside Parks and Recreation Director Manuel Gonzalez said the reason the city decided to build a dog park has a lot to do with the metal poles that can be seen posted in the ground at the location.
“One of the challenges is that we are building on a decommissioned landfill,” said Gonzalez. “There are monitoring wells that we have to work around. We are working with regulatory agencies to determine what we can and can't design.”
The city has proposed designs that include fenced in pens for large and small dogs, seating for dog parents, and shade structures.
Gonzalez said the existing park will remain untouched, like the Little League baseball fields.
“I think there were initially some concerns about the design and the little league operations and their existing fields. I think we were able to assure them, that in fact, what we were doing was creating a more complete park,” said Gonzalez.
The city said they don’t have any costs associated with the plans yet. Once they receive all of the feedback from the surveys, then they will move forward with a timeline and costs.
For more on the project, visit https://www.ci.oceanside.ca.us/government/development-services/engineering/special-projects-news/ron-ortega-dog-facility.
