Ordinance restricting dogs in public places repealed

Dogs now allowed in city parks, with a leash

PASO ROBLES — Should dogs be allowed in city parks? That was a particularly controversial topic during the Tuesday night Paso Robles City Council meeting on July 16. In the end, councilmembers approved the repeal of an ordinance restricting dogs in public places.

The ordinance repeal appeared originally in the consent agenda. This was its second reading and was pulled from the consent agenda by Councilman Chris Bausch for discussion and a separate vote for the council.

The city passed the ordinance restricting dogs from public parks back in 1984. In staff’s report, they note:

Since that time, the utilization of parks has evolved, and dogs have become more commonplace within City Parks. Today, locals and visitors regularly bring dogs to City parks, notwithstanding the prohibition. In an effort to align with current practices while encouraging the use of outdoor public spaces, the City’s Municipal Code needs to be updated to allow for dogs to be in City parks.

According to staff’s report, during the first reading of the ordinance repeal, Bausch “indicated that there was a deed restriction that prohibited dogs from being in City Park. To provide clarity and to ensure compliance with any deed restrictions, staff pulled a title report and attempted to get all related available documents. Based on these documents and staff research, there was nothing found that would prohibit the action the City Council is considering.”

Bausch asked Paso Robles Police Commander Ricky Lehr, who presented the ordinance repeal, how the city will control when a dog will urinate in the park and how they will clean it up.

Lehr responded that is something that he would have to look into but that “We can address that with an ordinance, and they could face a citation.”

Bausch came back with, “If we don’t enforce the ordinance now what makes me believe we are going to enforce the new ordinance?”

Lehr noted that not every situation is black and white when it comes to enforcement, and asked Bausch to clarify what ordinance he feels the police department is not enforcing.

“No dogs in the park … loitering, cannabis delivery, we don’t enforce that one. We don’t enforce illegal fireworks,” said Bausch.

Paso Robles Police Chief Damian Nord stepped in to respond to Bausch, saying, “Mr. Bausch, we enforce all laws. Obviously we have a limited number of staff that we have when citizens call, or whenever we have a reporting party that calls us, we go down and we enforce whatever ordinances or laws that are being violated. There is a letter of the law, and there is a spirit of the law. It’s a park. People bring their dogs to hotels. People bring their dogs to restaurants. People bring their dogs everywhere with them.”

Bausch then apologized for bringing up fireworks and loitering but still questioned the enforcement of allowing dogs in the city parks. He then asked how there could be no fiscal impact on the staff’s report for repealing the ordinance.

City Manager Ty Lewis informed Bausch that if the City Council requested specifics to the ordinance to be enforced, there could be fiscal costs, but as it stood now, there were none to report.

Dogs are frequently seen in parks around the city. Nord stated that if a call or complaint is made, they will respond appropriately, whether it be an aggressive dog or an unleashed dog, etc. A first citation for violating an ordinance starts at $100 and goes up for repeat offenses.

Bausch made a motion for staff to determine the cost it would take to repeal the ordinance as in costs for additional signage, supplying dog bags etc. The motion was seconded by Fred Strong, but it failed on the floor with Councilmembers Steve Gregory and Sharon Roden and Mayor John Hamon voting no.

Gregory then made a new motion to approve the repeal of the ordinance and requested staff to bring information back to the council with what it would cost the city to add or remove any signage or to provide dog waste bags.

Dogs still must remain on a leash unless in a designated dog park, and responsible ownership rules and adherence to existing regulations remain in effect.

The next Paso Robles City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 6, at 6:30 p.m.