Dog rule dividing fans of Wellesley park
Hearing Saturday on leash regulation
One of Wellesley's 10 public parks has become a battleground of sorts in a conflict among residents about dogs and leashes.
The dispute involving canine use and alleged abuse of Perrin Park has led the town's Natural Resources Commission to schedule a hearing Saturday to let all concerned present their views on the Perrin Park situation as well as "similar issues at other parks."
Starting at 9 a.m. in Town Hall, the hearing is an attempt to reach some compromise between the factions, a commission official said.
At issue is a new regulation that applies only to Perrin Park, one of the town's smallest multiuse recreational areas.
The park, nestled in a neighborhood off Weston Road, has been the subject of an increasing number of complaints in recent years amid increased use by area dog owners exercising their pets.
In September, the five-member Natural Resources Commission voted to approve a tighter leash requirement for Perrin Park than the town's other parks. The new regulation calls for dogs to be leashed at all times in the park.
Wellesley is one of the area's more dog-friendly towns, according to Janet Hartke Bowser, executive director of the Natural Resources Commission, which oversees the town's conservation, open space and recreational properties. Bowser good-naturedly acknowledges that she is "prodog," as her surname might suggest, but says the commission felt it had to address the complaints about dogs at Perrin Park.
According to Bowser and commission records, neighbors and other users of the park complained that "large packs of dogs" were roaming "out of control," frightening children, interfering with games being played on the baseball and lacrosse fields, and leaving waste that their owners failed to pick up.
Unlike Natick, Needham, Newton, Framingham, and other nearby towns, Wellesley does not require that a dog in public spaces be on a leash at all times. Instead, Wellesley, like Weston, requires that the dog be "under the control" of its owner. That, said Bowser, can be achieved by a leash, an electronic collar device, or the owner's voice commands.
Dog owners can be found letting their pets run free in the morning hours at many town parks and playing fields, said Bowser, with fairly few complaints raised at most of the properties. But discontent in Perrin Park escalated as the number of dog owners using the property increased in recent years.
"I don't think it's because there are more dogs," said Bowser, "but maybe because some people have just recently discovered Perrin's a nice place." The park, which is fenced and away from traffic, has benches, is flat, and owners can see their dogs easily at all times. There's also adequate parking, noted Bowser.
The increasing number of complaints about dogs and dog owners prompted the Natural Resources Commission to approve the special regulation at Perrin, Bowser said. But since the new rule took effect, complaints have been mounting from dog owners, angry about the restriction. They formed their own organization and began lobbying the commission for a new policy in Perrin Park.
Although no one from the group returned requests for a comment, the minutes of commission hearings indicate that the dog owners are seeking a compromise - either specific hours when dogs could play off-leash anywhere in the park, or a separate, fenced-in area where dogs could run loose whenever the park is open.
"We've been surprised at the degree of response," said Bowser, especially since Wellesley toughened its restrictions on the number of dogs that can be walked by one person. The restriction - only two dogs per person unless they pay for a license to walk three - was aimed at discouraging the use of Wellesley parks by professional dog-walking companies.
Bowser said the commission is committed to finding a resolution between the two sides "that will make as many people happy as possible."
