CD 11, Rec & Parks Discuss Dog Park Plans at Community Engagement Meeting

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

The office of Councilmember Traci Park and city of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks hosted their first Pacific Palisades Dog Park Community Engagement meeting on Monday evening, October 21, at Palisades Branch Library—sharing details of the proposed space and responding to questions from stakeholders.

Pacific Palisades Field Deputy for CD 11 Michael Amster began the meeting by speaking on the decades-long history of the dog park, inviting Pacific Palisades Dog Park Working Group members Carol Ross, Lynn Miller and Leslie Campbell up to talk on their involvement in bringing the park to fruition.

“The community has supported us from the get-go,” Ross said about the project.

Amster said the dog park has been a priority for the councilmember since she took office because it is a priority for the community. He said the project, which is a public amenity, aligns with the work that the office of CD 11 is focused on.

Next, Craig Raines, a landscape architect for Rec & Parks, explained details of the dog park, noting that at this point in the project, there is “some flexibility” as far as the design.

The dog park will be located on Temescal Canyon Road near Pacific Coast Highway on the east side of the road. It will be north (or to the left, if looking at the space) of the playground/bathrooms.

It will be fully funded by Measure A, Raines explained. Rec & Parks wrote a grant request, at the request of Park, to ask for the funding, with $1.5 million approved in September.

The 33,255-square-foot dog park will be split into two areas, one for small dogs and one for large dogs. There will be shade and seating, as well as agility features, hydration stations, fencing (at least six feet high, potentially Omega fencing), gates (at least a double gate, if not triple), and native landscaping. With its current timeline, the project is expected to be completed and open to the public in June 2027, according to Raines.

One topic that was discussed during the meeting was what kind of material to use for the dog park. Synthetic turf is being considered by Rec & Parks, but Raines said the department is open to other options.

Palisadians Lisa Kaas Boyle and Valeria Serna explained some of the potential issues synthetic turf could present (including introducing microplastics to the environment), pitching kurapia grass or another native option as alternatives.

Raines said “we can do whatever,” but “it’s hard” to find material that works in dog parks because of the use and maintenance. CD 11 and Rec & Parks said the conversation would continue at future engagement meetings.

Another topic was safety issues, including the potential for U-turns to be made along Temescal Canyon Road, people crossing the street with their dogs or coyotes in the area. Several options were discussed for the road, including designated parking (which might present an issue with California Coastal Commission, which works to keep parking free and open for beach access) or bollards. Coyote Rollers were suggested by one community member to keep them out of the fenced in area of the park.

When it comes to noise and odors, Palisadian Lou Kamer said the dog park group previously did an acoustic study, noting that most of the noise dissipated before reaching homes above the park space, as well as across the street. He explained that the breeze carried odors away as well.

“This site is the best site,” Kamer said.

Park spoke at the end of the meeting, thanking the community for attending.

“A lot of things we can talk about here,” Park said. “I’m just really excited for your community to be getting this … all things we can address [to] deliver an incredible asset.”

Amster noted that a future community engagement meeting would be slated for the near future.