Dogs and their owners take to Willard Beach in South Portland shortly after 3 p.m. when dogs don’t need to be leashed.. Drew Johnson / The Forecaster
Dog leash rules now in effect at South Portland’s Willard Beach likely will remain in effect for the foreseeable future and the Dogs & Sharing Public Spaces advisory committee can call it day, the City Council agreed Tuesday.
The advisory committee met 11 times since November and developed a number of recommendations designed to ease the tension between dog owners and others in the city. It failed, however, to reach a consensus on the most contentious issue: how everyone can share Willard Beach.
Councilors considered whether to have the committee continue working until a beach compromise could be reached, but decided against it.
“I think the committee has done everything that it can up to this point,” Councilor Linda Cohen said Tuesday. “I appreciate everything that it’s done, but I think it’s done.”
Councilor Misha Pride agreed.
“I think the ball’s in our court now,” he said.
The councilors unanimously agreed to vote on the committee’s recommendations at a future meeting, expected to take place before the winter dog-leash hours end on April 30. Councilor Katie Bruzgo was not present.
Despite the committee’s recommendations, Hinckley Park is likely to still have on-leash hours. Drew Johnson / The Forecaster
The council generally agreed to keep the Oct. 1-April 30 on-leash hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., rules that were put in place in November after much and often-heated debate, and the May 1-Sept. 30 on-leash hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The committee recommended that dogs be allowed off leash at all times at Hinckley Park, also a popular dog-walking site in the city, as long as the dogs stay on designated trails. Councilors, however, weren’t as agreeable to that recommendation.
“A lot of this conversation started with the environmental impact on Hinckley Park and the algae in the water,” Councilor Jocelyn Leighton said. “Having free and full access for off-leash dogs doesn’t super make sense to me.”
Tuesday’s meeting was reminiscent of those of last summer and into November when dog rules dominated public discussion, sometimes for hours at a time. Then, dog owners advocated strongly for off-leash time while some residents told of feeling unsafe at the beach, including being knocked over by loose, unruly dogs.
“It was very difficult for me to hear sort of the way that opinions were being conveyed on either side,” Pride said Tuesday. “There was targeting of personalities, personal attacks; which has been very disappointing throughout this debate. It’s become somewhat toxic to the point where I dreaded this meeting.”
On Tuesday, however, most of the nearly 40 residents who participated spoke of the need for compromise.
“There are people who don’t want dogs on the beach at all, people who want dogs leashed only,” said Moira Cahill. “But there is a big community who wants off-leash time. I understand that the community can’t have the beach always, and I’m fine with that. But, if you want things to be fair, you have to share the beach.”
Other residents emphasized that on-leash time does not equate to a dog ban, something councilors said they would not consider, but dog-owners have consistently said they were concerned about that.
“To put a leash on your dog is not to ban the dog or you,” said Jeff Steinbrink.
Steve Ross said the current off-leash hours put too many dogs on the beach at one time.
“I walk my dog every day,” he said. “Since you changed the hours in the winter, I do see a parade at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.”
The committee agreed that dog overcrowding at Willard is a problem, but not on how to solve it. Methods of crowd control it considered included restricting off-leash dogs to a particular section of the beach, implementing parking stickers and requiring dog owners to obtain a beach pass. The council’s opinions varied on such restrictions.
“I think right now, we need to think about people’s pocketbooks,” Councilor Jocelyn Leighton said. “Some of those things are not going to be affordable for some people, and I don’t want to eliminate access to the beach. I want it to be public, I want it to be accessible to everybody.”
Others argued that a pass could be free.
“It need not incur any expense to at least have a permit for your dog,” said Councilor Katherine Lewis. “If you’re serious about it, you need to understand the regulations and actually have a pass.”
The committee recommended the creation of a dune and wildlife ordinance, prohibiting people and dogs from the dunes and making it illegal to harm animals. Proposed tweaks to current regulations include requiring owners to carry a waste bag at all times and that aggressive dogs must be leashed.
It also suggested a dog park be created to mitigate overcrowding at the beach, and that the city consider making the now part-time animal control officer’s position full time. While the council will not pursue these recommendations immediately, they said they may be considered if all else fails.
While councilors appreciate the community’s passion for and against dog leash rules, Leighton said Tuesday she’d like to see that passion applied to other issues, too.
“This energy around the dog situation, there’s a part of me that just wishes there were this many people, and this much energy, towards other issues in our city,” Leighton said. “I wish this energy could be this vibrant when it comes to racism in our schools or homeless people in our streets.”
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