Cuesta Park Annex, a 12-acre parcel of land adjacent to Cuesta Park is just such a place, according to Brittany's owner, Ellen Winkler. A member of the Mountain View Dog Park People, Winkler says he annex meets all her group's requirements: It's a large, flat piece of property, accessible to those who take public transit or have restricted mobility. There's a water source and bathrooms nearby, and there are shade trees for the dogs themselves. It's close enough to residences that neighbors could walk their dogs into the park but far enough away that residents without pooches would be spared any noise the canines might create.

The catch is that the City Council won't approve even a temporary dog park at the annex, despite the fact that the property is currently zoned for public facilities. The council voted in May 1998 not to consider any potential uses until the city has completed a master plan for the parcel. Much to the consternation of many local dog owners, the city has yet to begin work on this plan.

Vice mayor Rosemary Stasek says that at the time the council opted to wait for a master plan, proposed uses for the annex included a skateboard park, an organic farm and a driving range. Housing developers have also expressed interest in the property, which sports the foundations for a residential development that was never completed. Yet another group asked that the annex be set aside as an official historic orchard.

"It's an incredibly sensitive piece of property," Stasek says. "Every time we try to do something there, we confront a complex set of community issues."

The annex is the largest piece of undeveloped open space in the city, Stasek says, adding, "I don't want us to chip away at it a piece at a time."

In August, Stasek was the lone councilmember to vote against constructing a temporary dog park at Shoreline Park. In response to threats of legal action by the Audubon Society, city staff is studying the potential impacts of a dog park on the burrowing owls who live near the Shoreline site. The owls are designated as a "species of special concern," putting them just a few steps away from the endangered list.

The Community Services Division of the parks department is scheduled to present its findings to the council on Dec. 7, at which time the council will decide whether the city should prepare a full environmental impact report for the site.

(This article reprinted with permission of the Mountain View Voice.)

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