DOG PARK? There is no dog park!
By John Gregory
By all accounts, dog owners have been using a grassy area near the southeast end of Meanley Drive as a dog park for years and years. But the area has now been fenced off. The City of San Diego states that this area at 10368 Meanley Drive is not an authorized dog park.
Some local dog owners don’t care if it’s authorized or not.
Frank Husson is a dog owner who said he often utilized the area as a dog park.
“I have used it personally for 15 years for my dogs – and many, many other people in Scripps have taken their dogs over there over the years – and now suddenly it’s no longer available. I don’t see why they still can’t let people use it for their dogs. It’s been a very popular place over the years,” he said. “I know it’s not defined as a dog park … but as far as normal thinking goes, lots of people think of it as a dog park.”
The property sits atop a large underground water tank, although this is not obvious. The location is covered with earth. The soil atop the tank once sported a field of green grass in the center, with vegetation on the sides. Now the site, including a small parking lot, is fenced off at what was once the entrance – and the grass is dry.
The City of San Diego Public Utilities Department (PUD) is responsible for this piece of land.
“The site commonly referred to as ‘Meanley Dog Park’ is, in fact, the Miramar Recycled Water Tank site, which houses an underground 9-million-gallon recycled water reservoir owned and operated by the Public Utilities Department (PUD),” stated Ramon Galindo, City of San Diego Communications Department senior public information officer, in an email responding to information for this story. “This reservoir is a critical public utility asset that directly supports recycled water reliability and system operations.”
The PUD is limited in how its funds are used, and a dog park is not within the guidelines.
“As a rate-supported utility, PUD is legally limited in how ratepayer funds may be used. All expenditures must comply with California’s Proposition 218, San Diego City Charter section 53, and the City’s water and wastewater bond covenants.
These requirements strictly prohibit the use of ratepayer funds to support recreational amenities, or unofficial public uses that are unrelated to the operation, maintenance, or protection of utility infrastructure. In addition, in this time of escalating costs, PUD must focus on eliminating unnecessary expenses or liabilities to protect ratepayer affordability,” Galindo stated.
The PUD serves wastewater customers and provides drinking water to 1.4 million residents. It owns and operates nine City reservoirs, three water treatment plants and three wastewater treatment plants.
It operates Miramar Reservoir, which is used as a recreational site. Why can’t the property at Meanley Drive be used for recreational purposes?
“Recreation at any City of San Diego Public Utilities Department site cannot be funded with water or wastewater ratepayer dollars. While some PUD owned reservoirs, such as Miramar, support public recreation, those activities and amenities are funded and managed using non rate revenue, typically through the City’s General Fund,” Galindo responded. “This separation ensures compliance with state and federal requirements that prohibit using utility ratepayer funds for uses that are unrelated to the operation, maintenance, or protection of utility infrastructure.”
Brown grass
The city stopped watering and cutting the grass, and stopped picking up the trash at the site, Husson said.
“Historically, the site received limited maintenance through a landscaping contract that has since expired,” Galindo stated. “The area was never permitted or designated as a recreational facility of any kind, and PUD cannot continue or renew such services to support its informal use as a dog park. Continuing maintenance for this purpose would be inconsistent with legal and financial obligations governing the utility.”
The sight of construction equipment and vehicles at the area prompted some to conclude that the City was beginning a construction project at the site, possibly as part of the City’s Pure Water Project which involves work at Miramar Reservoir. But the Miramar Recycled Water Tank is not associated with the Pure Water Project.
“The Miramar Recycled Water Tank is part of the existing recycled water distribution system and is not part of Pure Water construction. The fencing of the dog park is not associated with Pure Water construction,” Galindo stated.
Liability, damage concerns
Dog owners enjoyed the freedom to bring their pets to the Meanley Drive location and let them roam freely.
“In particular, what was nice about this one (site) is it was an off-leash area. And so, if people would bring their dogs up there, take them off the leash and the dogs would play with each other and there were very little issues,” Husson said. “A lot of the dog parks, you have to have your dog on a leash. But this one, because it wasn’t officially a dog park, it wasn’t a leash-only park.”
But these same advantages for dog owners – along with citizens’ concerns about its lack of maintenance – prompted the City to fence the area.
“Importantly, the community’s initial inquiry regarding the condition and maintenance of the site prompted a broader internal review. That review identified more serious concerns related to liability exposure and the risk of damage to the recycled water tank and associated infrastructure beneath what the community perceived as open space. After consulting with the City Attorney’s Office, (the) PUD, along with City leadership, decided to close the site to public access in order to protect this ratepayer-owned asset and to prevent potential damage or safety incidents for which ratepayers could ultimately be held financially responsible,” Galindo stated.
Damage to the operation of the water tank caused by dog owners might be hard to imagine, but liability concerns remain.
“While we understand the community’s disappointment, PUD is not responsible for managing recreational open space or park facilities. We continue to support safe, permitted recreational opportunities and encourage residents to utilize designated, properly maintained, and approved location(s),” Galindo stated.
“Ongoing, unpermitted, and unregulated recreational use of this site could compromise the integrity of the underlying infrastructure. Protecting public utility assets and City-owned land is essential to ensuring long-term system reliability and safeguarding the public investment,” Galindo added. “As such, PUD has installed appropriate signage and fencing, including ‘No Trespas-sing’ notices, to deter further unauthorized use. The sign-age and fencing reflects our responsibility to manage City property responsibly, reduce risk to the community, and comply with mandated regulations.”
This has not halted the site’s popularity, nor has it stopped some dog owners from bringing their pets to the location.
“People are still going in there. There are three or four other ways to get in there. It’s not like there aren’t other ways to get in. It’s just that the normal way, which is to go in where the parking lot is, is now locked off and you can’t get in there that way,” Husson said.
Husson mentioned that the area is so prized by dog owners that someone brought their lawn mower to trim the grass.
It’s apparent that a real dog park in Scripps Ranch would be popular, and it’s interesting that the establishment of an official City-
designated dog park has yet to be accomplished. But the process is not simple.
A citizens’ committee called Bark at the Park once organized an effort to create an off-leash dog park on land at Hendrix Park on Aviary Drive, south of Scripps Ranch Boulevard. The effort faced a difficult path through committee presentations and the City process, along with some opposition by neighbors in the area – and it fizzled.
So, would a different location for a dog park in Scripps Ranch suit local dog owners if it were possible?
“Yeah, I’d very much like that. I think a lot of people in Scripps Ranch – there’s a lot of people who own dogs – and they’d like to have a place to take their dogs,” Husson said.