(Editor’s note: in researching the dog park story, CTN was given the letter below which was sent to L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s office in July 2024, to explain the steps that have been taken and what is still needed.)
This dog would have preferred to play with other dogs at a park.
The residents of Pacific Palisades have been trying to establish a Dog Park for at least 25 years, with the last serious effort happening under Norm Kulla’s tenure. In 2015 the Barrington Dog Park, which is frequented by many Palisadians due to the lack of a Dog Park here, was threatened with closure due to the VA wanting to take back the land they owned. As you probably know, the Barrington Dog Park sits on VA land, and was recently greatly reduced in size. Leslie Campbell, Palisades Resident, began a petition drive to establish a Dog Park in Pacific Palisades that garnered almost 4,000 signatures.
Concurrently, the County of LA undertook a Park Needs Assessment to determine the condition of existing park facilities and whether areas were considered park “poor” based upon population and access to nearby parks.
Pacific Palisades and Brentwood were grouped into the same Study Area for this Needs Assessment, Study Area 129. This Park Needs Assessment was used to support the need for Measure A, a parcel tax which funded Park improvements, the acquisition of land for parks, and park facilities upgrades. Measure A provides approximately $267,000 (increasing by 3% annually) to the Brentwood/Pacific Palisades area for the next 20 years. During the Brentwood/Pacific Palisades Needs Assessment, Lynn Miller Hylen, Palisades Park Advisory Board member, represented the Palisades Community and a Pacific Palisades Dog Park was ranked as the #1 need.
On January 27, 2017, Mike Bonin passed a Motion establishing the Pacific Palisades Dog Park Working Group (PPDPWG) to find land in the Palisades for a Dog Park. The PP Dog Park Working Group was chaired by Lynn Miller (Hylen) and Leslie Campbell, and included Carol Ross, Susan Payne (Chair of the Chamber of Commerce) and Lou Kamer (local activist) as well as Lisa Cahill. Cathie Santo Domingo from Rec and Parks attended the kick-off meeting and remained involved through the process of obtaining RAP approval for the land on Temescal Canyon Road that was ultimately chosen as the best site. A landscape designer from RAP, Craig Raines, developed a Dog Park design and the project was deemed “shovel ready.”
Measure A requires Community Input and Approval for project applications, so on February 7, 2018, a meeting was held at the Palisades Rec Center to review the site location, design, and obtain Community suggestions, comments and ultimately approval of the Palisades Dog Park. One hundred twenty Palisadians came to the meeting, and 100% voted to approve the Temescal Canyon Road site and design.
This Community Input meeting is a required step in the Measure A process for granting funds. After this Community meeting, the Pacific Palisades Community Council and the Palisades Park Advisory Board voted to support the Palisades Dog Park, with the PPCC writing to Councilmember Bonin several times to obtain funding for the Dog Park. Under Councilmember Park, we are excited and grateful to see real progress, with the RAP Board of Commissioners approving the project in January 2024, followed by the submission of a Grant Proposal to RPOSD this June.
One remaining question is whether the Palisades Dog Park will require Coastal Commission Approval. The PPDPWG had been told that an EIR was required for the Coastal Commission, but Darryl Ford of RAP determined that an EIR would not be needed. The Coastal Commission does require that a project be fully funded before it can be reviewed, which will happen upon Measure A approval. The current balance of funds in the shared Brentwood/Pacific Palisades area is $1,573,381.37 (https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dpr/1122281_MeasureAAllocationBalance.pdf), enough to fund the entire cost of the Dog Park, which is currently estimated at $1.5 million.
We are excited to work with you and Supervisor Horvath’s office to shepherd the Palisades Dog Park application through the Measure A process and receive approval to allocate the funds to our Dog Park. We stand ready to assist you in any way possible and look forward to moving the project through to construction in 2025.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best Regards,
Lynn Hylen Miller
Leslie Campbell
Carol Ross
All rest and no play makes for overweight canines.