ED TAYLOR
The Vero Beach City Council has approved the use of certain additional city parks as “dog friendly”, meaning that owners can walk their dog on the park grounds so long as the pet is leashed and properly tended. Before the resolution was adopted, leashed dogs were allowed at only two city parks; MacWilliam Park and Michael Field. The leashed dog resolution does not affect the current proposed long term off leash dog park at Bob Summers Park which will be a subject of future council debate.
The resolution contained a suggestion of 7 city parks that were proposed to be made dog friendly. Immediately prior to the issue being addressed by the council, City Manager Jim O’Conner asked that the resolution be amended to remove Troy Moody Park (in the McAnsh Park subdivision) and Young Park (near Vero Isles). O’Conner asked that those two parks be removed from the resolution based upon citizen input.
The resolution as amended passed unanimously by a 4-0 vote, with Councilmember Craig Fletcher being absent for that portion of the meeting.
Citizen Mark Mucher approached the council and questioned the need for such an ordinance since he doubted it would be enforced. Mucher said that he consistently sees unleashed dogs throughout the city. “They are all over,” he said.
The city manager assured that the resolution would be enforced through the city police department and the city’s code enforcement officers.
“This gives us the authority to recognize where dogs are allowed and where they are not,” he said. “This resolution makes it clear.”
Another concerned citizen, did not think such valuable city property should allow pet privileges. However, during his presentation to the council it was ultimately determined that he was referring to the proposed off-leash facility at Bob Summers Park which was not on the agenda for discussion.
Councilmember Amelia Graves, who worked with former Councilmember Ken Daige to determine if any of the city’s 18 public parks could be added to the dog friendly column, stated that “many of the parks are being used by dog owners with or without the designation”. “We need to make it clear where dog walking is legal and where it is not which will make us a more dog friendly community,” she added.
The parks that are now leashed dog friendly are:
- MacWilliam Park (excluding restrooms)
- MacWilliam Park boat ramp/boat trailer parking area (excluding Riverhouse)
- Riverside Park north of Dahlia Lane (excluding restrooms)
- Riverside boat ramp/boat trailer parking area
- Royal Palm Pointe Park (excluding splash fountain, restrooms and dock area)
Due to an amendment to the resolution, the previously mentioned Young and Moody parks were removed from the list of approved leashed dog walk areas.
Councilmember Pilar Turner expressed concern that the leashed dogs would not be allowed to accompany the dog owner into the restroom if need be. The city manager recognized the concern and expressed that the dogs should not be allowed into the restroom for sanitary and safety concerns due to the necessary confined nature of a public restroom.
The city manager also stated that the affected parks would have additional plastic bags available for necessary pet clean up along with additional disposal units for the placement of those bags.
Indian River Guardian 
Great move forward. Now we need a small part of JC park at the south end of the Board walk so that we can let our furry friends enjoy the beach. This would go a long way to making Vero a truly pet friendly town. All of the major hotels on Ocean Drive allow pets but there is no place in the city for our visitors to take their pets to the beach.
We also need a law that states to pick up after your dog,so people would not complain if they step in the waste.
why is it so important to be a pet friendly city.there are some who would argue that they like not being a pet friendly city.(dogs in parks, restaurants etc). walking along a public way when approaching a person walking a dog, the pathway becomes the right of way for the dog.especially so if the dog happens to be a large dog of an aggressive variety.have you ever seen a person walking a dog who has absolutely no control of the animal?leash or no leash dogs have a mind of their own. do you like dogs to nuzzle your crotch or lap your hands? this policy gives our parkland to dogs and dog owners to the detriment of all others.i think this ordinance is a poorly thought out policy for the sake of a few in spite of the many.let us not forget that there are many of our citizens who are petrified of dogs leash or not. .this more likely is being promoted by dog lovers who have forgotten that their dog is an animal and not a person and should be treated as such.i am not a dog hater and have had dogs as pets in the past.dog owners knew the rules going in and now want change the rules for their own benefit. I say keep things the way they are. thank you.