Dogs not welcome in Fort Lauderdale parks. That might be about to change.

FORT LAUDERDALE — Louis Rofrano and his dog strolled happily through Holiday Park, just like they do most every day.

Just one problem: They’re breaking the city’s no-dog park rule.

Walking the family dog through any of Fort Lauderdale’s 110 parks — even those with dog parks like Holiday Park — is a no-no unless the dog happens to be a service animal.

Commissioners are now looking at changing the rule, but deferred a commission vote on May 7, saying they want input from residents first. They are expected to debate the matter on June 18 during a commission conference meeting set to begin at 1:30 p.m.

Rofrano was stunned to learn dogs are not welcome in Holiday Park. But the park’s pine-green welcome sign made it pretty clear: “No dogs or pets allowed.”

Rofrano hadn’t noticed the sign until this week.

“You have two dog parks here and yet they have a sign saying ‘No Dogs,’” he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “It doesn’t make sense at all.”

The controversial rule — on the books for years — is supposed to be enforced by the city’s park rangers.

Commissioner John Herbst was well aware of the rule when he took his 75-pound dog to the Holiday Park Dog Park. To avoid any trouble, he said he picked up the dog and carried him over to the gate leading to the dog park.

Nearly a dozen residents spoke up at the meeting in May, including Mary Peloquin, president of the Fort Lauderdale Council of Civic Associations.

She told commissioners about a chilling encounter she had with a park ranger years ago: “I never knew that you weren’t allowed to have dogs in the park until I was walking my dog in the park right down the street from me and a park ranger came up to me and said, ‘If you don’t get that little dog out of the park right now I’m going to take it to the pound.’”

Peloquin said she picked up her little dog and walked out of the park shaking.

Peloquin, now a member of the city’s park advisory board, told commissioners her adult children live all over the country in cities that welcome dogs in parks, from Los Angeles to Cleveland.

“I can walk a dog in any park in New York City and any of its boroughs,” Peloquin said. “I can walk a dog in Chicago. I’m allowed to walk a dog in all the Cleveland city parks. I can walk a dog in L.A. in any park except for some parts of hiking trails in the mountains.”

By contrast, Fort Lauderdale only allows dogs in the following areas:

• Holiday Park.

• Snyder Park.

• Canine Beach along A1A, north of Sunrise Boulevard.

• Riverwalk Linear Park.

• Designated dog park in Riverside Neighborhood Park at the corner of Southwest Second Street and 20th Avenue.

Lockhart Park, still in the planning stages, is also in line for a dog park .

Fort Lauderdale’s Parks, Recreation and Beaches Advisory Board is now recommending dogs be allowed in all city parks, with some caveats.

Owners would be required to walk their dogs on a leash that’s a maximum of 6 feet in length.

They also need to keep their dogs away from playgrounds, athletic fields, courts, water splash pads, swimming areas, beach areas (except for north of Sunrise Boulevard) and any body of water.

The change would not come without a cost.

Investing in dog stations, dog waste bags and new park signs would cost taxpayers an estimated $150,000. Another $10,000 per year would be spent on maintenance costs, city officials say.

Not all are on board with the plan.

Vice Mayor Steve Glassman urged rolling out the canine carpet at a handful of parks rather than all 110 parks at once.

“I just think this is a little too much all at once,” he said. “I just think we need to just talk about it. Study it a little bit. Figure it out a little bit more. This is a very sweeping proposal, very radically different from what our policy is now. I think when we just go from one extreme to the other, it just deserves a little bit more conversation.”

Some residents, animal lovers included, already have expressed concerns about the possible consequences of moving forward with the changes, Glassman said.

“There was a concern that sometimes not every owner is so considerate,” he told the commission. “There was a concern that sometimes you might see too many dogs that might not be leashed in all 110 city parks. There was also a concern that not everyone is a dog lover. Not everyone wants to go to the park and be with pets.”

Herbst had another concern.

He wants to know what it might cost the taxpayers if Fort Lauderdale opts to create more dog parks citywide.

“Are we talking $100,000 to build a dog park?” he said. “We’re not talking just one or two around the city. We’re talking every neighborhood that might want a dog park. So what’s that going to cost us? I’d like to know that. I think that’s important.”

Not every neighborhood wants a dog park, said Esthel Brennan, president of the Riverside Park Residents Association. And some dog owners steer clear of dog parks.

“I have three large dogs,” she said. “I’ve owned dogs my whole life. I would never take my dogs to an off-leash dog park.”

Brennan continued to drive her point home.

“I do believe there’s a little bit of confusion going on on the dais up here,” she told the commission. “This is not about dog parks. It’s at face value a leash law that we’re updating. Currently, I cannot walk my dogs on leash in (any park) in the city of Fort Lauderdale.”

Rofrano, who moved here from Chicago, says he’s not letting Fort Lauderdale’s little-known rule keep him and his dog away from Holiday Park.

“This is one of the nicest parks around,” he said.

Does he plan to carry Chopper through the park next time?

“He’s 47 pounds,” Rofrano said. “I will if I have to. But that’s ridiculous.”

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com . Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan