SCARBOROUGH – Dog lovers waiting to find out if they can continue to let their dogs run off leash on Scarborough beaches will have to wait a little bit longer.

At the Sept. 18 Town Council meeting, a decision was put off two weeks, until Oct. 2, to give the town more time to negotiate with U.S. Fish & Wildlife officials over a $12,000 fine tied to the July 15 killing of a piping plover chick on Pine Point Beach in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

Councilors voted for the delay 5-2, with Richard Sullivan and Kate St. Clair opposed, following a closed-door meeting with the town attorney that lasted 65 minutes.

On Sept. 11, the town received a violation notice from Andrew Tittler, acting assistant regional solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior, stating the town “did knowingly cause” the plover’s death because its animal control ordinance allows dogs to run off leash on municipal beaches from sunrise until 9 a.m. during the plover nesting season, if “under voice control.”

According to Councilor Judy Roy, who moved for the delay, an additional two weeks will “provide additional time for settlement negotiations” with federal officials regarding the fine. Although the council could have passed a stronger leash law now, in hopes of nudging those talks toward a smaller fine, a majority wanted the public to be able to see the agreement before additional restrictions are adopted.

“A significant component of the proposed settlement is the ordinance amendments and we would like the council and the public to review a final settlement agreement, and the ordinance amendment concurrently, in order to make a fully informed decision,” said Roy.

A dog belonging to King Street resident Rachel Speed mauled a plover chick at the shoreline of Pine Point Beach at 7 a.m., a time when the dog was allowed to be off leash. To date, Speed, who has denied comment to the press, has not been assessed a fine.

“Voice control over dogs is ineffective,” wrote Tittler in his notice, noting that wildlife officials on both the state and national level have asked the town five times since 2001 to require that dogs be leashed at all times during the plover nesting season. The most recent attempt from state officials was on July 10, Tittler said, just five days before the dog attack.

Dogs are allowed to be off leash on municipal beaches in Scarborough from sunrise until 9 a.m. between June 15 and Sept. 15. During those months, dogs are banned from the beach between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and must be on a leash from 5 p.m. until sunset. An update to the town’s animal control ordinance – which Town Manager Tom Hall acknowledges was rushed to the council when the presence of a U.S. Fish & Wildlife investigator signaled the town might be held culpable in the plover death – ends the free run and extends the leash requirements.

Under the new rules, as proposed, dogs would have to be on a leash from sunrise until 9 a.m. in addition to the exiting leash restrictions, which all move up to start April 1. Leash lengths also are expected to be limited from 30 feet to a maximum of 8 feet.

Between 60 and 120 residents have packed the Scarborough Council chamber at various public meetings since August, with the vast majority opposed to the end of all free run time for dogs during the summer on public beaches. A group calling itself Dog Owners of Greater Scarborough has vowed to launch a petition drive to undo any new restriction the council might adopt.

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