May16, 2022 - City Memorandum on dog park / beach
Hello Oceanside Dog Beach Supporters!
Below is an excerpt from a city memo regarding the dog park and beach studies. Attachment B addresses Dog Beach Preliminary Investigation.
Attachment B
Dog Beach Preliminary Investigation
Staff has performed a preliminary investigation regarding the feasibility of a dog beach and the process that should be undertaken. The preliminary findings of the investigation are summarized below.
In order to construct a dog beach in Oceanside, a coastal development permit and CEQA analysis will be required. As part of the process, there are fourteen criteria that will be reviewed which includes an extensive biological review and consultation with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine any impact to sensitive habitat or endangered/listed animals. At the end of the process, there is a strong potential for mitigation measures to be put in place that would be additional costs to the City.
Monitoring of water quality is routinely being conducted along the San Diego coast to determine that State Health Standards are being met. The water quality monitoring that is currently being conducted, however, does not differentiate between human and animal feces. A microbial source tracking study can identify whether having a dog beach will have a significant impact to water quality. However, this type of study could not be completed until a dog beach was established in the City of Oceanside. However, there are other cities, including Santa Barbara, that have performed microbial source tracking studies to look at this concern. The cost of a microbial source tracking study is approximately $300,000. Therefore, it is not recommended that the City of Oceanside look to do a microbial source tracking study at this time but instead review other microbial source tracking studies that have been completed for other established dog beaches.
Typically, dog beach locations have natural topographic features and/or fences that help mitigate dog-person conflicts. Therefore, potential mitigation measures should be reviewed as part of the study to eliminate potential dog-person conflicts.
Lastly, the City of Del Mar provided staff with the following feedback/lessons learned regarding their dog beach. If a dog beach is added, it should be done with specific hours during the summer (i.e., dawn to 9 AM, 4 PM to dusk) to allow patrons to still use the beach. Additionally, the maintenance costs incurred to the City for having a dog beach is well over
$20,000 a year and therefore, it is recommended to have some kind of revenue source (i.e., paid parking) to counteract the cost.
Therefore, the following items would need to be included in a dog beach study which is estimated to cost approximately $150,000:
Perform preliminary biological studies to determine which potential dog beach locations would not impact sensitive habitat or endangered/listed animals.
Review existing water quality analysis and microbial source tracking studies for locations that allow dogs on the beaches to determine any potential impact a dog beach has to water quality.
Look at locations that have natural topographic features or that have the feasibility of placing fencing to separate the dog beach location to prevent dog-person conflicts.
Determine a strategic plan on how the City can incorporate ways to pay for the increased maintenance costs to the beach.
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