Feb 25, 2010
From the Lexington Minuteman
Conservation Commission delays vote on dog rules
http://www.wickedlocal.com/lexington/features/x692844411/Conservation-Commission-delays-vote-on-dog-rules
By Emily
Costello/Staff Writer
Posted Feb 25,
2010 @ 07:26 AM
Lexington —
Supporters of
off-leash dog walking at Willards Woods
packed Cary Hall Tuesday evening to hear the Conservation
Commission discuss regulations for use of the conservation area
by dog owners.
The issue has become
heated in recent months as members of a sizable dog-walking community have
clashed with abutters and others over everything from parking to poop.
After discussing
Willards Woods for little more than an hour, the commission adopted a motion to
form a subcommittee to study possible solutions, which could include
restricting use of the woods or adopting a “Green Dog” program like the one run
by The Trustees of Reservations. The subcommittee is scheduled to report back
to the Conservation Commission by May 1.
The board did not
take comments from the public, although the approximately 150 people in
attendance, many of whom held “Friends of Willard Woods” signs in their laps,
occasionally hissed, jeered, or gasped in reaction to what commission members
said.
Commission
Chairwoman Joyce Miller said the commission had received many suggestions for
solutions by e-mail. She said the commission would go through as many
suggestions as possible, eliminate some as unworkable, and vote on others. She
promised to hold a public meeting before the commission voted to change any
regulations.
Miller noted some of
the e-mails received from off-leash supporters mentioned the “right” to walk
dogs off leash.
“I haven’t been able
to find any such right,” Miller said.
She said dog walkers
using conservation areas are required to keep their dogs within voice command
and follow the pooper-scooper rule, which she said many were not doing.
“The brook banks are
eroded. And, of course, there is poop almost everywhere,” Miller said to hisses
from the audience.
Commission member
Stew Kennedy said enforcement is the key.
“I don’t see any
reason new rules will be any better,” he said.
But Miller said the
commission does not have the funds to do proper enforcement.
“The way
around not having funds is a permit system,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy suggested an
enforcement officer working four to six hours per week would be sufficient.
Commission member
Charlie Wyman offered an alternate solution.
“We should
consider zoning by time or space before taking the step of banning off-leash
activity,” Wyman said.
Wyman suggested the
commission appoint two or three members to study the issue for two months and
report back.
“I’m concerned about
time,” Miller said. “This is the time of year when Willards Woods is most
vulnerable.”
Commission member
Philip Hamilton was not satisfied, accusing the commission of taking the easy
way out.
“If a proposal is
not made by May 1, I will propose a six-month moratorium on off-leash walking,”
Hamilton said.
Miller suggested
additional fencing be put up to protect the brook from erosion in the meantime
— a suggestion that was dismissed by others as too expensive or unworkable.
After the meeting,
Leslie Goldberg, of Friends of Willards Woods, said she was pleased the
commission didn’t make a ruling. Goldberg said it is important for the town to
have time to explore solutions.