Dogs still want a say on access to Longboat beaches

Remember Max Goldner?

Last summer, Max, then a 5-year-old Wheaton terrier, became the public face of canines clamoring for beach access after his owners, Nelson and Laurin Goldner, emailed Vice Mayor David Brenner to suggest that Longboat Key consider opening its beaches to dogs.

His picture made the front page of newspapers as he stared out longingly toward the water from the beach near his Long Island summer home.

Max is 6 now, and he still wants to go to the beach, according to Laurin Goldner, who is one of seven residents who formed a dog beach feasibility committee last fall.

The committee now has a name — the LBK9 Committee — and is in the process of condensing the dog beach information it gathered throughout the season to present to the commission, most likely in the late fall.
The LBK9 Committee, which consists of both supporters and opponents of the idea, says it will hold off on presenting its report to the commission until seasonal residents return to the Key.

According to Laurin Goldner, the committee has focused most closely on health issues and impacts on sea turtles and shorebirds, which drew concern from those against the idea.

“The answers we’ve found are very different, but the bottom line is that this does seem to work,” Goldner said.

The committee’s report will include relevant information, but it may not include a recommendation, leaving commissioners to decide if and how they want to move forward with the idea.

The issue of allowing dogs beach access dogged the commission in late 2011 and early 2012, as dozens of residents emailed commissioners to express support or opposition for the idea.

But the town so far is not involved in the issue.

There’s nothing pending on the issue, no motion on the table, and town staff has not spent any time on it.
Although the commission discussed the idea at an October workshop and reached consensus to appoint a citizens committee to study the matter, commissioners decided to hold off on getting involved.

At a November meeting, they opted to abandon the motion that would have created the committee and instead allowed a citizens committee to form privately, research the issue without commission involvement and report back at a later date.