Sarasota dogs must be leashed in city parks

City commissioners chose not to include an exemption process in the ordinance that would give residents means to make some parks "leash optional."

By Cassidy Alexander
| 2:17 p.m. July 19, 2017

Dogs in public parks can no longer roam free, the City Commission said. Leash regulations were approved July 17.

Sarasota
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Dog owners in Sarasota must now keep their pets on leashes in public parks, unless the park has a fenced-in area specifically for dogs, thanks to a July 17 vote by the City Commission.

This decision comes after a months-long dispute centering on Sun Circle Park in the Indian Beach-Sapphire Shores neighborhood, which residents wanted to be a "leash optional" park, exempt from the new regulations.

The debate at the most recent meeting wasn’t centered on whether or not to require dogs to be on leashes, but on whether or not to define an exception process in the new ordinance that would allow dogs to go off-leash in some public parks, and particularly in Sun Circle Park.

Getting here

Late 2016: The city received complaints about dogs in Bayfront Park off-leash, and looked for a solution.

March 20, 2017: Staff recommended the city code be changed to mandate dogs must be on leashes. Most city parks at the time allowed dogs to be off leash. Residents near Sun Circle Park asked that their park stay leash optional. The commission directed staff to find other neighborhood parks that were similar and could also remain leash optional.

May 1, 2017: Staff presented several other parks that could be leash optional, and the same group of residents spoke about their desire for Sun Circle Park to be leash optional. City commissioners declined to move forward with making any parks, except Sun Circle Park, leash optional.

Late May 2017: A new group of residents around Sun Circle Park reached out to city staff to adamantly oppose that the park be exempt from the new leash regulations. They sent a letter with their rationale, and cited several reports from the county's Animal Services.

July 17, 2017: At a second read of the ordinance, commissioners decided not to exempt any park from the leash rule, and not to include a process for residents to go through to seek an exemption in the future.

On July 17, 13 Sarasota residents spoke in front of the commission, most of whom were from the neighborhood around Sun Circle Park.

Some expressed interest in letting dogs go off leash. Some told stories of how they themselves and their pets were attacked by off-leash dogs. Some said they never had any problems in the park with their dogs or others’. Some talked about their own history with good dogs, but still said they feel it’s safest if leashes are required in public parks.

“You know we have to make the tough decision,” Commissioner Hagen Brody said to fellow commissioners. “I don’t like seeing neighbors fighting with each other over this. I’d rather they be fighting with us, frankly.”

Parks and Recreation Director Jeff Fogel said early on in the meeting he would recommend going with the leash rule, with no exceptions.

“My main concern for all our parks, all our recreational amenities, is safety first,” he said. “And I don’t feel that having off-leash makes that happen.”

Ultimately, commissioners decided to err on the side of caution when it comes to citizens’ safety, and exclude an exemption process from the leash ordinance.

If a citizen has an issue with a park and thinks dogs should be allowed to go off-leash, they must now contact the Parks and Recreation Department, who will look into possible solutions.

City staff also plans to look into what existing public parks could be turned into dog parks.