Chosen location for Ann Arbor's newest dog park is 'offensive,' church pastor says

Ann Arbor officials say the new dog park they are planning close to downtown is in response to residents' demands. But the leaders of nearby New Hope Baptist Church say a dog park at that location will disrupt their services and pose a safety hazard to parishioners.

The Rev. Rodrick Green and church trustee Thomas Miree are speaking out against the city's proposal to establish a small off-leash playground for canines at the Chapin Street entrance to West Park, directly across the street from the church.

"It upsets the dignity of our worship services," Green said recently during a visit to City Hall. "It's going to be a noise problem because we're conducting our services at the time when people are going to be bringing their dogs, and dogs make noise. You can't control dog noise."

The Ann Arbor City Council is expected to consider a resolution to establish the city's third off-leash dog park at its next meeting on Jan. 22.

The city's Park Advisory Commission, which heard the church's concerns last month, is recommending approval of the dog park with the stipulation that city staff will report back at the one-year anniversary of its implementation to review operations, including noise levels.

City park officials said there's been a desire in the community for some time to establish a more centrally located dog park near downtown. Ann Arbor currently has two-off leash dog parks: one at Swift Run in the southeast part of the city and one at Olson Park in the northeast part of the city.

Aside from concerns about noise, church officials say having a dog park directly across the street — adjacent to one of the church's parking lots and its adult day care center — poses a safety risk.

"We have a situation where children, who are sometimes afraid of dogs, are put at risk, and maybe now they have a disincentive to use the park because of the dogs," Green said. "There are so many reasons for them not to do it, and only a couple of reasons in favor of it."

City Council Member Christopher Taylor, who serves as a council representative on the Park Advisory Commission, said the church's concerns have been taken seriously.

"The Park Advisory Commission listened to the church members who came and spoke before it, and understood their concerns," he said. "The safety concerns voiced by the church, in PAC's view, are met by the airlock design of the dog park."

Just like at the city's other dog parks, Taylor said, there would be a double-gated entry system whereby dogs and their owners would pass through one gate into an enclosed space. After they close the first gate behind them, they would open a second gate to enter the park.

"As for the noise and so forth, PAC's experience with dog parks is that they are not particularly disruptive — certainly less disruptive than unsupervised dog play," Taylor said.

"At the same time," Taylor added, "PAC was sensitive to the fact that this is closely proximate to the church, recommended that it be reviewed within a year … and made it clear, too, that they wanted the infrastructure associated with any dog park placed at this location to be temporary — to be easily removable in the event that it proved not to be satisfactory."

Miree addressed council members at a recent meeting and urged them to consider another location within West Park that's farther away from the church and the street.

"Anyone who's done planning knows that you need conflicting land use buffers for noise, appearance and other considerations," Miree said. "We want the city to consider the adverse impact that a dog park may have on the neighborhood, particularly safety."

Green reiterated the message that the church wouldn't mind having a dog park at West Park as long as it was farther back on the park property.

"West Park is a large park," he said. "There's no reason why it has to be placed in an area that's going to be offensive to us as a people and as a church, and right now it's offensive."

Green said the small stretch of Chapin Street, between Huron and Miller, has a large volume of pedestrian traffic.

"We have over 300 members at the New Hope Baptist Church directly in front of the proposed dog park," he said. "On the right-hand side of the dog park is our day care center where older people come. On the left-hand side of the dog park is a swing set for the children.

"And behind the dog park is the baseball diamond," he continued. "So right smack in the middle of all this pedestrian activity, they want to put a dog park. It's ludicrous."

Taylor said PAC was deliberate in choosing the grassy area just north of the entrance off Chapin Street where the city bought and demolished a house in recent years.

"The Park Advisory Commission and the park staff had specific reasons for why this was the best location within West Park for a dog park," he said. "It's not activated in another manner, and it would not impact other uses of the park, which would occur at other places within the park. So I don't expect there to be a change, although I know the staff and commission is always open to input."

PAC Chairwoman Julie Grand said the community's desire for dog parks near downtown surfaced repeatedly in the city's park planning process. A dog park also was high on the list when the city asked neighbors for preferred uses for city-owned property at 721 N. Main.

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.