ConCom begins review of dog park proposal

Panel hears citizens’ pros and cons of contentious project at Stocker Playground; hearing continued until March 19

By Mark E. Vogler

SAUGUS – Dog poop and its environmental impact on the wetlands and Saugus River near the site of a proposed dog park at Stocker Playground was the focus of considerable discussion at last week’s Conservation Commission meeting. “Everyone is concerned about the poop,” said Chris P. Sparages, a civil engineer of Williams & Sparages who briefed the commission on the Notice of Intent (NOI) he helped file on behalf of the town for the dog park project.

Sparages, a Saugus resident, stressed that the project organizers are “making sure we have a great plan in place to pick up the poop so it doesn’t wash into the river.” Sparages noted that the town would do its due diligence by having pet waste containers at the site and that Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree “is committed to hiring a part-time dog officer” to help monitor the park.

Board of Selectmen Chair Debra Panetta, an avid supporter of the dog park and herself a dog owner, said picking up dog waste shouldn’t be a problem. “If you don’t pick up poop, the other owners will shame you into picking up poop,” she said.

Julie Mills, a vocal opponent of the dog park, downplayed dog poop as an issue. “Everyone is concerned about picking up dog poop. Dog poop is not the biggest problem,” Mills said.

“Pathogens and parasites being carried by dog urine is more of a concern than the dog poop,” she said.

Mills said she is worried about the health and environmental impacts of having a high concentration of dogs in one area – a situation which would lead to a heavy concentration of dog urine, which she said would contribute to toxic algae blooms and public health hazards. She said she was concerned about the spread of microbes, which might endanger the public.

“My concern is, ‘Is the town going to be liable from children going blind?’” she said.

The Conservation Commission took no action at the Feb. 12 meeting, other than to continue the hearing until its March 19 meeting at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall Annex Meeting Room at 25 Main St. The Commission also scheduled a site review at Stocker Playground at 9 a.m. on March 15. The playground is located off Winter and Stocker Streets.

But Conservation Commission Member Paul Petkewich expressed some concerns about the weather. “If there’s snow on the ground, we’ll have to delay,” Petkewich said.

“It’s still an open forum,” he said, with tentative plans to resume the hearing on March 19 if the site review has taken place.

Plans for the proposed dog park

The NOI filed last month stated the town planned to use .64 acres of the 6.35-acre Stocker Playground, which is 10% of the property, as a dog park.

In his presentation to the ConCom, Sparages displayed several maps and artist renderings of the dog park and argued his case that the project complied with wetlands and other environmental regulations. Sparages said the dog park would take up to 13 percent of the entire Stocker Field lot, converting the area encompassing a rundown basketball court and tennis court to a fenced-in dog park.

“The important thing is we’re reducing the impervious surface,” Sparages said of plans to remove the asphalt.

“What we propose to do is plant some trees and shrubs to replenish the area,” he said. “We are definitely improving the existing condition of stormwater management.”

According to the current Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) Atlas (15th Edition, August 1, 2021), the property is not mapped as Priority Habitat or Estimated Habitats of Rare Wildlife. In addition, the property is not mapped as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), and there are no mapped certified or potential pools on or around the parcel. No adjacent waterways or wetlands are shown as Outstanding Resource Waters.

The dog park is proposed to contain play areas, dog runs, a nature play area with trees, boulders and grass, a water play area with a pool, fountain and shower station, and a yard hydrant and an agility training course. The entire dog park area is proposed to be fenced in with a five-foot chain-link fence, with additional five-foot chain-link fencing separating a small-dog-only area from the rest of the park. The small-dog area will have its own dog run and play area separate from the rest of the park’s amenities. Both the large-dog area and the small-dog area will have double gated entrances for safety. The total size of the dog park is proposed to be approximately 0.64 acres, with the large-dog area totaling approximately 0.50 acres and the small-dog area totaling approximately 0.14 acres.

ConCom members had a chance to question Sparages about the project after his presentation. Commission Member Bill Leuci wanted to know whether the project included plans “to rejuvenate the whole park.”

“An area like this, you should have something for the small kids as well as the big kids,” Leuci said.

Later in the meeting Leuci asked whether the park plans were ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) compliant. Leuci expressed concerns about a senior citizen falling and not being able to get up.

Commission Member Petkewich wanted to know what the estimated usage of the park was, whether there was a dog limit and whether there was a breakdown between the ballfield parking and the parking for the dog park. Sparages said 50 cars in the parking area would be a conservative guess. He didn’t have any information on a breakdown on the parking and said there was no limit on the number of dogs.

Public feedback favored the park

Dog park advocates outnumbered the opponents to the dog park. Several of the residents who turned out to speak against the dog park left the meeting early and never testified.

Richard Lavoie, creator of the Dogs of Saugus Facebook Page, said the change.org petition drive for the dog park has garnered more than 400 signatures. Lavoie called the dog park “a well-thought-out idea.”

The change-org petition he’s promoting concludes: “This amenity would be the only space in Saugus where off-leash play is legally permitted for dogs other than the small park that is located in Breakheart Reservation which is not easily accessible to handicapped and seniors.”

Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Jeffrey Cicolini, who is also a member of the Dog Park Committee, said town officials wanted to make sure that all concerns about the park are heard. “We don’t want to jam it down the public’s throat,” Cicolini said.

At the same time, Cicolini was vocal in his support of the project and noted that the town is ready to make an investment with security cameras and an assistant animal control officer assigned to the area. The design and construction of this park will be primarily grant-funded through the Stanton Foundation, which has provided design and construction grants for dozens of dog parks across the Commonwealth.

“We’re also committed to start a ‘Friends of Saugus Dog Park.’ We’re going to make this park for residents,” he said of the park’s supporters.

A dog park would be a substantial improvement of the current area, which is now occupied by a basketball court and a tennis court, according to Cicolini. “What’s going on in that park now is a disgrace. There’s drugs and drinking,” he said.

Cicolini said people have misconceptions about the potential harm that a dog park could cause to wildlife that live in the area encompassing Stocker Playground. “We have more activity on the rail trail than before,” he said, noting that bikers and hikers get to see eagles now, where they didn’t before.

Town Manager’s Office Administrative Aide Jeannie Meredith called the project “a major environmental improvement to the area.”

Dog park opponent Julie Mills said she is concerned about the potential negative impact on wildlife. “Eagles are breeding and nesting at Stocker,” Mills said.

Mills also cited Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution, an amendment that protects public open spaces, as a key barrier to plans for the dog park going forward. “The request to put in this dog park should have gone through Town Meeting,” Mills said.

“It needs a two-thirds vote of the Town Meeting. If it receives two-thirds vote, it then goes to the Legislature,” she said.

Precinct 3 Town Meeting Member Mark V. Sacco Jr., who has advocated on behalf of abutters and residents who live near Stocker Playground who oppose the dog park, wrote a letter to the ConCom urging members to delay their vote. Sacco didn’t attend the meeting. “By proceeding without the required two-thirds Town Meeting vote, the administration is not only sidestepping legal obligations under Article 97 but also ignoring the original intent of the deed that has protected Stocker Playground for nearly a century. This sets a dangerous precedent for repurposing protected public lands without proper due process,” he wrote in his letter.

“Given these serious legal and ethical concerns, I urge the Conservation Commission to take no further action on this proposal until the required Town Meeting vote has occurred. Allowing this process to move forward under the current circumstances would be an endorsement of an unlawful overreach by the administration,” Sacco wrote.

Town Counsel John Vasapolli issued a legal opinion last week that determined the proposed use of a portion of the playground as a recreational area for families and their dogs falls within the scope of uses allowed under the deed restriction. Vasapolli also concluded in his opinion requested by the Dog Park Committee that the proposal to replace existing seldom used sports courts with a dog park doesn’t trigger Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution, an amendment that protects public open spaces.

Abutters of the proposed dog park recently filed a lawsuit in Land Court, attempting to stop the removal of the basketball and tennis courts. Meanwhile, the Saugus ConCom will continue with its review before deciding whether the dog park project complies with environmental regulations and poses no threat to the nearby wetlands.