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MEMORANDUM To:Saint Anthony Village Parks and Environmental Commission From:Ashley Morello, Assistant City Manager Date:September 8, 2025 Request: Dog Park Exploration BACKGROUND The topic of exploring the feasibility of a dog park in Saint Anthony Village was an agenda item at Parks & Environmental Commission meetings in Fall 2022 and Winter 2024, and historically as far back as 2014. It was also discussed at the Parks Summit in March of this year, which included attendees from both Commissions, City Council, school district, sports boosters and staff. While a dog park has been subject of public interest, the geographic restraints, development of the City, as well as anticipated staff demand are challenges that impact the feasibility of establishing a dog park within the City. This meeting will build upon previous discussions in response to community desire for a dog park. As part of the Parks and Environmental Commission 2025 Work Plan, the Commission is being asked to identify the best location for a dog park with the least adverse impacts. STAFF RESEARCH To provide guidance on a recommendation that provides the best possible amenity to serve the greatest number of community members as possible, included in the meeting attachments are a report from Ann Arbor, MI that outlines recommendations for dog park site planning, as well as a guide from The Trust for Public Land. Some key components for best practices from the documents are summarized below: Size: The recommended minimum size for dog parks varies considerably among cities, but is generally between ½ acre and one acre. This allows adequate space for a higher volume of dogs as well as larger dog breeds that require more space for activity. Buffer from Residential: A few cities provide definitive distances from residences, varying from 50 feet to 200 feet. All strive to minimize conflicts and include guidelines such as: making sure that noise and activity levels are no more than other park uses, importance of screening or visual buffers, and having a minimal impact on residences. Parking: Recommendations include that parking should be readily accessible, close to the site, sufficient/adequate size, and convenient. There were no standards for size; rather it is important to consider parking when locating a dog park. Use Conflict Avoidance: Guidelines include avoiding play areas and other recreational amenities, high use areas, natural areas and water sources, wildlife, trails, community gardens, and historic sites. The Parks Summit confirmed that establishing a dog park that can serve as a community-wide amenity would require displacing current activities or amenities. After the Parks Summit, staff assessed potential dog park locations that present the least impact to current uses and/or addresses other known issues or amenity changes being considered (see the Table below).