Politics & Government

Dog Park in Clayton Gets Resident Feedback

A public input session about the proposed Haddington Court facility happened Thursday at The Center of Clayton.

official Toni Siering recently toured a number of St. Louis-area dog parks as part of the city's efforts to develop its own canine facility.

Most surprising to her: The variety. Some dog parks have elaborate water features or entryways, and others are subsets of larger open spaces.

Siering is Clayton's superintendent of parks and recreation operations. She visited with residents and answered their questions Thursday as part of a public input session about the dog park that is taking shape on .

The court is located just west of the off of Clayton Road.

In touring dog parks, Siering and other Clayton officials looked at attributes such as size, fencing, locking mechanisms and rules. Most of them took existing park land and converted part of it into a dog facility.

Clayton is working with a group of residents to plan the park, whose construction is expected to be funded through donations.

The dog park conversation has been underway for months. initially the offer after neighbors expressed concerns about the idea. City staff also before Haddington Court became available.

On Thursday, attendees of the public session got to view maps of the proposed location, review rules and look at photo of dog parks in Chesterfield and Creve Coeur.

Under the proposal, Clayton's park will be just under 2 acres in size with primarily grassy open space. Dogs more than 30 pounds in size would use a 1 1/2-acre section, while dogs under 30 pounds would use a separate 1/2-acre section.

The park would be open to registered Clayton residents paying $80 annually for their first dog and $60 annually for each additional dog. Fees paid after July 1 would be prorated by 50 percent.

There would be a cap of 200 dogs for the park overall.

To register, participants would need to provide proof of Clayton residency; proof of rabies and bordatella vaccinations for their dog, along with proof that the pet is spayed or neutered; a registration form; and a release of liability form.

In return, people approved for the park would receive an entry code to access the gate at the dog facility and Clayton dog park tags that pets would be required to use when visiting the site.

The dog park would be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily to people age 12 and older. Handlers must be 16 or older, carry a leash at all times and clean up after their dogs under proposed rules.

Preliminary discussion about raising funds for construction is underway, Siering said, though the date on which ground will be broken has not been set. Construction is expected to cost between $55,000 and $80,000.

Details such as where participants will park will be developed as work progresses.

More about the Clayton dog park discussion on Patch:

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