Dogs Off Leash At Tenaya Park

The issue of dogs off leash at Tenaya Park has come up again. There is a misperception that the law requires dogs to be on leashes at all times. In fact, Fresno County's leash law requires dogs to be on leashes or “under the immediate control of a responsible person.” The law does not define "under the immediate control."

Some Tenaya Park homeowners have dogs that enjoy chasing balls and playing together at the Park. Other Tenaya Park residents aren't dog lovers and would prefer that dogs be kept on leashes at all times. None of us want stray dogs roaming through our neighborhood or dog owners who don't control their dogs when they're at the Park.

We all want to enjoy the Park. Rather than making this a divisive issue that creates hard feelings, we need to find ways to share the Park. When you're at the Park, if dogs are bothering you, let the owners know at that time. If the owners ignore your concerns and you're repeatedly bothered by the same dogs, let a Tenaya Park Board member know. Give a description of the dogs, when you normally visit the Park, and any information about the owners that you can. If the offending dogs live in the neighborhood, the Board will try to discuss your concerns with the owners and suggest each of you use the Park at different times. If the dogs don't live in the neighborhood, the Board can be on the lookout and try to discuss the situation if the dogs visit the Park again.

If we can all approach this with a spirit of cooperation, everyone (dogs and people) will be able to enjoy the Park.

Positive Feedback About the Public

It's nice to hear positive things about the Park! Vern Grant posted signs with the Park's web address. Shortly after the signs were posted, we received this very nice Email. We wanted to share it with the neighbors.

-----Original Message-----From: Scott & Niki
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:40 PM
To: Downing, CynthiaSubject:
Re: Tenaya Park

Thank you for your quick reply. We are thrilled...what a God send. I will be visiting regularly. We don't have a safe quiet park anywhere near our home. We are calling it "secret park" already:-) I have lived in Fresno my whole life and never heard of it.
God Bless,
Niki


On 1/17/08 1:32 PM, "Cynthia Downing" wrote:

The Park is a public park. It's open to anyone to use and I'm glad you enjoyed it. 143 homeowners who live around the Park pay additional taxes to maintain the Park so we're glad when families like yours are able to use it. As far as rules, the Park closes at 10:00 p.m., alcohol is not allowed (in any public park), and we hope people won't get too noisy later in the evening.

Pleae visit again when you can!

Cynthia Downing

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott & Niki
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:28 PM
To: Downing, Cynthia
Subject: Tenaya Park

My children and I visited the park today and had a fabulous time. I was wondering about the rules of the park. Is it actually open to anyone to use? I do not live in the neighborhood, was it alright that I spend a few hours there? There was NO ONE else around so I couldn't find anyone to ask. Please let me know so that we can plan on visiting again if it is permitted. I live in the Tower District. Thank you for the Park. It is beautiful.

Niki

Report Problems at the Park Online

You can report problems at Tenaya Park online. When you post a comment to this blog, it will be Emailed to members of the Tenaya Park Board. For now, you can make anonymous posts. However, the Board may choose not to respond to comments posted anonymously.

Next Tenaya Park Board meeting: January 8 at 7:00 p.m.

The next Tenaya Park Board meeting is scheduled for January 8 at 7:00 p.m. at the Downing house. At this meeting, we will discuss the costs of removing diseased trees and other Park business.