Press Conference to Announce
Draft Citywide Dog Policy
Tuesday, June 12, 2001
City Hall, Room 305
Willie L. Brown, Jr., Mayor
Elizabeth Goldstein, General Manager, Recreation
and Parks Department
Carl Friedman, Director, Animal Care and
Control
Sgt. William Herndon, Police Department
Mayor Willie Brown:
For some time now, as a matter of fact, in my very first campaign, the issue of - [pause] dogs -- in the public parks was raised. I, of course, said that it was an issue I was not terribly familiar with, therefore, would have to defer, to the then-director of Parks and Recs. That director did not ultimately reach an accord, because it obviously takes a considerable amount of time to work through the issues involving dog owners and non-dog owners and other people who want to use our public parks.
Over the last several months, in consultation with hundreds of people on both sides of this issue, as well as those who have the responsibility to ultimately administer -- or whatever -- the public policy, is Elizabeth Goldstein. Elizabeth Goldstein from our Park and Rec -- Rec and Park Department -- Executive Director -- has put together what she believes is the absolute best and fairest method about which to address this issue, and, hopefully, after today, the public will begin to embrace the results of her recommendations.
With that, let me present to you, Elizabeth Goldstein.
Elizabeth Goldstein:
[General Manager, San Francisco Recreation and Park Department]
Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I want to recognize several other people who've joined me on the podium. Carl Friedman, from Animal Care and Control; and Sergeant William Herndon, from the Police Department.
The Recreation and Park Department is pleased to begin the public comment period on the draft citywide dog policy today.
The draft policy is a result of a long process that included comments -- extensive comments -- from the public, and the staff of the recreation and park department, as part of the ongoing strategic planning process.
It has also been informed by extensive research throughout the country, and I want to commend my staff in the presence of many, and the press, for all of the diligent work that they've done to look at policies from all over the country; they've been quite extraordinary.
San Francisco is the second-densest city in the United States. In just my short tenure in the department, it has become extremely clear that there is fierce competition for the 3,400 acres of parks that are available to the citizenry. Anyone who has been following the press on the off-leash dog issues over the last year or so knows that this issue brings out people's passions on all sides.
The recreation and parks department has unfortunately and inadvertently fanned the flames of these passions by not putting in place clear criteria for the use of parks by dogs and their owners. We are beginning today a process to correct that, with the release of the Draft Citywide Dog Policy.
As I have indicated to you, we have put considerable thought into this policy, and now it's time to hear from you. We have begun today a thirty day public comment period that will end at the end of business on July 13th. We encourage everyone who cares about these issues to get a copy of the draft policy, to read it in its entirety, and to comment. The purpose of this public comment period is to hear from you; we care enormously about what it is that you want to say to us about this policy, and your reactions to it.
The policy will be available on the web this afternoon at www.parks.sfgov.org, or we will send it to you if you call us at 831-2084, and the materials that you've got have all that information.
We've also set up a special e-mail address called dogpolicy@ci.sf.ca.us .
When the public comment period is over, the staff will compile and incorporate those changes that we feel appropriate into the policy, and present that revised policy to the Recreation and Park Commission for their consideration. I want to just pause for a moment to recognize the two commissioners who are with us today, Lynne Newhouse Segal and Gloria Bonilla.
The Recreation and Park Commission will then hold a meeting at which to consider the Draft Citywide Dog Policy. It will be a publicly-noticed meeting, and anyone who requests the dog policy in its draft form will be given written notice or some other form of notice for that meeting. The meeting will also be, obviously, noticed on our website, as all of our public meetings are.
However, we really urge you to look thoughtfully at this policy, and to comment in advance of July 30th -- July 13th, I'm sorry -- and the reason that we urge you to do that is, the department has fully committed itself to looking carefully at your comments, and responding as thoughtfully as we can to your concerns and considerations. And we would like to have those in advance, so that we can, as I said, incorporate whatever changes we deem appropriate, into the policy that the Rec and Park Commission looks at.
And now, to some of the highlights of the dog policy. I am not going to talk at great length or in detail about these, because I really urge you to read every word (laugh), but the highlights are the following:
The Draft Citywide Dog Policy recognizes the use of parks by dogs and their owners as a legitimate recreational use. It encourages off-leash -- on-leash use, excuse me -- throughout the system, with four notable exceptions: athletic fields, children's playgrounds, significant natural areas, and areas that are restricted by a law, such as the Japanese Tea Garden. It recommends the expansion, addition, and enhancement of dog play areas for off-leash use throughout the city. It establishes criteria for that use. It also creates a Dog Advisory Committee to the department, to evaluate dog play areas, and explore other off-leash dog opportunities, such as trails and other recreational activities.
We urge you to read every word of this policy. It's important that everyone recognizes that the sound-bites are not the policy. The policy is the entire document, and we urge you to read it thoroughly, and carefully, and thoughtfully. That's why we've given you thirty days to think about this; to take your time, to talk to others, and to share with us your careful thoughts. We'd like you to offer specific changes if you'd like, or general reactions, any way that you feel comfortable -- but we really do urge you to speak up. Now is your moment, this department has been thoughtful to date; we want to continue through this process in a thoughtful and careful way.
So, I would be delighted to entertain any comments or questions that you may have.
[pause]
If you don't have any, we're all going to go home!
Reporter:
Don't you feel as if you've got a bit of a war going on here, between the dog owners and non dog owners?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
Well, there's definitely, as I've indicated, a good deal of passion around these issues. I am convinced, based on the conversations that we've been having with stakeholders, for now many weeks, that these two groups in fact can make compromises and find room in which we can all live together in this small park system.
Same Reporter:
Have you made the compromises for them in this report? What is a typical compromise?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
Well, I think that is for everyone to judge for themselves. The kinds of things that we've looked at, in terms of sorting out compromises, is making sure that dog play areas are adequately addressed with amenities, and so on, I don't know whether you consider that a compromise or a basic tenet, it doesn't matter; we've listened to a lot of comments that we've heard, about the way parks should be used and the various uses that should be accomodated, and we've tried to accomodate all of those.
Same Reporter:
Don't you think the city's a little [pause] sensitive on the subject of dogs these days?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
Yes. [audience laughter]
Same Reporter:
Would the city have been as sensitive if not for the incident late last year?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
I think that this city has been sensitive for a long time -- way in advance of incidents that have taken place in the recent past.
Same Reporter:
Did that affect your policy at all?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
No, I don't think it has.
Same Reporter:
No influence?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
We have been listening to constituents on many sides of this issue for a long time; my two years in the department, we've been listening to these considerations. I think that, on balance, this is a fair policy for a beginning discussion.
Reporter:
The dog owners are concerned that this policy would mean that your dog would be relegated to, basically, dog areas. [rest of question difficult to understand on tape but the essence is that dog activites would be separated and this would be difficult because off-leash dogs would be isolated from family and other ativities.] Is that the case?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
We don't believe so. We think that some of the things that we've included that allow for a variety of experiences will also give people other choices.
Same Reporter:
What about the existing ... off-leash dog areas that in fact, for the most part, are just general grassy areas with a number of activities -- would they remain that way? Would they be changed to, basically, dog-only... ?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
Well, that depends entirely on how we get through this public comment period. In terms of the policy, it's proposing that we have areas where off-leash dogs are the predominant use. In all cases, we assume that other people may use these areas as well, but we expect that there will not be a lot of demand for that, but there's no restrictions. The issue is whether or not people can be in parks in places where there are restrictions for on-leash dogs.
Same Reporter:
What do you say to a family that may have dogs and kids, and wants to go out and take their dog, and have their dog run around, just run around and sort of spend the day you know, in a park, how do you accomodate them in this plan?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
You're welcome in the vast majority of our park system, with the four notable exceptions that I indicated, as long as the dog is on-leash.
Same Reporter:
So then, in those cases, dogs would not be able to be off-leash in most of the areas that we traditionally think of as a park?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
Unless there are designated areas.
Reporter:
They're throwing a word around. The word is "Segregation". How do you respond to segregation?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
[pause] We have many uses which are divided from other uses in the recreation and park system; people don't play tennis in the middle of parks, and we segregate some uses where that's necessary to ensure that those uses can be, in fact, healthfully and safely executed, and that is what we're attempting to achieve here. And we also think, we have, the policy very clearly indicates that we're willing to explore those places [loud baby comments] where there can be, like, trail -- special trail -- experiences, as long as they're clearly marked and clearly noticed, people will know that there's off-leash dogs in those areas, that that may be a possibility for expansion of use.
Same Reporter:
How much have you worried about this? Seriously, I mean, you're on the hot seat up there today, you've been working on this for how long?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
Well, I've been in this position for a year, and we've been pretty much working on it since I arrived, and there was a long tenure and history in the department on this issue before that.
Same Reporter:
Is there any attempt, or any thought, you can please all the people, all the time?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
No.
Same Reporter:
You know some people will be upset with this policy?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
Yes, I do, and I think that I'm less concerned about upset than I am about establishing a policy which is fair. And it's extremely important that we establish a policy that's fair, and then be very clear about what the rules are, and then enforce those rules, and that's our intention here -- it's not to satisfy everyone. It is, however, to find reasonable compromises and hopefully will satisfy the vast majority of reasonable and responsible users on all sides.
Audience Member [Arthur Feinstein, Audubon Society]:
Have you been told by the public, or, much of the public, that their park experiences are very much limited by the presence of unleashed dogs?/
Elizabeth Goldstein:
We have heard those comments. I wouldn't say that they are the majority of comments that we've heard, but we have heard that that is a concern and that's part of the reason we're moving forward towards this policy.
Reporter:
The stakeholders who I've talked to, on both sides, said to me this is worse, not better, so, and obviously, I haven't talked to all of them, but nobody seems to like this, so if everybody thinks this is worse -- why do something?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
Well, I think doing nothing is part of the reason that we're here, and in this problem. The City has had dog pooper-scooper laws and on-leash laws for many, many, many years, and there no one has ever done anything about them. And part of the problem is that there are real conflicts going on out there in the community, and I understood, in meetings with hundred and hundreds of people who thought that what was going on wasn't right, whether we were attempting to do something new in a particular park or enforce what was old, or whatever, and there's clearly conflict out there over this. I think that that's an important message for everyone to make clear. But, if people are not happy with where we are, then they have to voice that concern, and we want to hear from them now. That's the reason that it is a public comment period here, is because we didn't feel completely confident that we were at the end of the road; we were completely confident that we had a document we felt strongly enough about that we thought it was a good place to start the public dialogue. And that's what's beginning today.
We really feel strongly, and I cannot urge you enough, to recignize that this is a Draft Citywide Dog Policy -- we are beginning an expansive public dialogue today, and we respect that process, we respect what the public's going to tell us, and we look forward to hearing from them.
Reporter:
I understand that there's no new budgetary money coming along with this for enforcement, staff patrols, and that's been a problem in the past, you've said, we want to put ... leashes, that necessarily hasn't been enforced. How's enforcement going to be changed?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
We have been working with both the Police Department and Animal Care and Control and our own Park Patrol to talk about coordinated enforcement -- after we've been through a public noticing process, and let me just emphasize what it is that we're proposing to do about the policy.
We're proposing it go through a public comment process, we're proposing to revise the policy and then have it approved, in whatever form, by the Rec and Park Commission.
Then we're proposing to go through a public information process for almost three months -- for ninety days -- sharing with people what the new policy is, so that we're not putting anyone in position who didn't know that there were new rules, and who would have ordinarily been able and willing to pay attention to that -- and, at that point, then we'll begin enforcement. So we're many, many months away from enforcement, and hopefully, many, many months into an information process with the public.
Same Reporter:
But .. enforcement, how will that change, in terms of -- I mean, I've just heard in the past, that there's been no staff to enforce.
Elizabeth Goldstein:
Part of the issue is that there hasn't been enough staff and we'll continue, unfortunately, in that situation. However, we believe that our coordinated efforts can do a better job at this.
Reporter:
Mayor Brown, what do you think of this whole, sort of "Segregation" thing, of dogs in one area with their dog owners, running around off-leash, and families picnicking someplace else?
Mayor Willie Brown:
Well, I would hope that no one would take their tennis shoes off [audience laughter] in the presence of a dangerous animal[more laughter] however, I believe that the directive of Rec and Park has placed it appropriately, and that is, after serious study and consideration, a proposed draft policy is in place, and that proposed draft policy will generate a response, and then hopefully, that response will be a positive one, the draft policy will be embraced by all of the citizens, or most of the citizens, and eliminate the need for either one of these two gentlemen [at podium, from Animal Care and Control and Police Department] to do anything except inform people about them, on a self-enforcing basis, hopefully, people who want to go to the parks, with or without a dog, will be able to enjoy the use of the parks, on an equal basis, for picnics or whatever else they may care to do, whether they are dog owners or non dog owners, and I think that's what this draft policy proposes to ensure.
Reporter:
Do you think this is a serious problem, or, sort of, much ado about nothing?
Mayor Willie Brown:
No; it is a major problem, a very serious problem, because people in San Francisco take their dogs seriously, and people take their children seriously, particularly soccer-playing children, and where there is a confrontation, it usually occurs because of the non-compatibility of each of those institutions attempting to use the same space. This is designed to try to create an environment where that confrontation will not take place.
Audience Member [Lindsay Kefauver, SF DOG]:
Are you going to take the public comment period any other way than e-mail? I mean, how will the public, neighborhood ... people who use neighborhood parks, know to comment on this? Are you going to have a .. take them out to the neighborhood?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
Well, we will post notices in all of our parks that say that the policy is available. We are going to try and distribute some copies into the field as well, but people will not only be able to .... get a copy of the dog policy, we are going to mail to to our regular commission mailing list, so if you're on that, you will get a copy, we're hoping that our stakeholder partners, whether that's Neighborhood Parks Council, or SF DOG, will help us get it out there, so people can look at it. Anyone who wants to write to us or call us, we will mail it to them, and, as I said, this process of the press conference itself will begin to get the word out.
Same Audience Member [Lindsay Kefauver, SF DOG]:
But there won't be neighborhood meetings?
Mayor Willie Brown:
Excuse me, for a second. The stakeholders will also be asked to discuss this in their normal meeting setting, and if they desire someone from Rec and Park to come elaborate or share with them this information, her staff will be happy to do that, and not even charge overtime for it -- and then, of course, the public hearing will be held before the commission, as is the case with all commissions, and that public hearing, that will be an oppportunity, as well.
Reporter:
Mayor, you were standing up there behind her today, can we take the fact that you were standing there as an indication that you support this proposal?
Mayor Willie Brown:
This is my employee. If she was working for somebody else, she may have a different program. She has done what she has been asked to do by me; her staff has done what's been asked to do by me, and that is, prepare a document that can be interacted with by all the citizens in this democracy, to listen closely to those citizens, and then to frame a policy that will then be the subject of a public hearing before a commission which I have appointed. At each stage, all of this conduct is with my blessings. Make no mistake about it -- it is with my blessings.
Audience Member [Laura Cavaluzzo, SF DOG]:
Elizabeth, can you clarify the enforcement schedule for me? It seems that we have a thirty day public comment period, then we have ninety days of public education.
Elizabeth Goldstein:
Once the policy is adopted, which will take place after the thirty days; we're not entirely sure when, exactly.
Same Audience Member [Laura Cavaluzzo, SF DOG]:
Where, in there, are the additional parks identified, because, it seems, if you're starting to enforce, before you've actually doubled the parks as you're proposing to do, that doesn't seem like a fair situation: forcing dog owners into the current 18, 17 parks, so, are those new parks going to be identified prior to the ninety-day public education period?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
Well, we are assuming that each one of those new parks will have to go through an individual and separate process, so, unfortunately, we don't think that that's achievable, although we will work with the Dog Advisory Committee to do that as quickly as is humanly possible.
Same Audience Member [Laura Cavaluzzo, SF DOG]:
But, you will have to begin enforcing the leash laws in the parks before you've expanded the off-leash parks?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
To its full extent, yes.
Mayor Willie Brown:
You understand, there is a law in place now, there is already a law in place now, the problem is, it is either not enforceable, or it doesn't work easily, or there are not enough people to enforce it. Laws are really designed so that, once they're in place, hopefully, most of us will obey them, and there will not need to be the one-on-one enforcement process.
And so, the laws as they currently exist will continue to be in force, until some new law, or some new policy, is adopted and new instructions are given to the police department and to the animal control people. This is not, like, it's "free fire" until this is adopted [chuckle] -- no, there's no such thing -- there is a law in existence today, and that law is, in most cases, either being ignored, or not enforced, or we're not capable of enforcement.
Reporter:
Mayor, was there one catalyst, was there one incident, that forced you to make -- decide you were going to do something about this?
Mayor Willie Brown:
Yeah: I ran. For Mayor. And it was a matter called to my attention by the citizens of this city. I mentioned to you at the outset that the first campaign in which I was in for mayor, back in 1995, this incident -- or, this issue -- presented itself, and I knew instinctively that this could cost you your election, if you were not careful, for you make everybody mad when you start including, excluding, all those kinds of things. So, I thought it appropriate to spend as much time as it takes, to build as much public support for the ultimate policy that may be adopted, and that's what is being done.
Same Reporter:
Same question I asked earlier: do you expect that you can please all the people with this thing?
Mayor Willie Brown:
I don't think it is possible to please all of the people in any democracy under any circumstances; I certainly have not found that formula. I have trouble getting 50.1.
Audience Member [Arthur Feinstein, Audubon Society]:
Elizabeth, it's been suggested that parties on both sides strenuously oppose this, and I just want to make it clear to the press that there's a large number of constituencies that are generally supportive of this document; we have some problems with small parts of it, but, in general, we'd like to congratulate -- I'm with the Golden Gate Audubon Society -- we'd like to congratulate Elizabeth and her staff on doing an excellent job, we have some very strong reservations about a very few points, which we will bring out in out public comments, but, overall, I think this is a way of bringing together and allowing everybody in this city to share our parks without the conflicts we've had, and so I'd like to congratulate you, Elizabeth, and your staff, on doing a great job and, again, there are many consituents here who do support this proposal. [applause]
Audience Member:
[could not make out first part of question] What provisions are made for us commercial dog walkers?
Elizabeth Goldstein:
Sure. As you may or may not know, commercial activity can't take place on park land without a direct permission from the recreation and park department, and we have been lax, in fact, in asking professional dog walkers to come forward to request a permit from us to do their business on recreation and park land, and so, this policy anticipates providing that. So, we are assuming that professional dog walkers will, indeed, use our park land and that they will come forward, as I'm sure all responsible professionals will, to get a permit from this department, and that permit will require that the voluntary permits and, sort of, disclosures that take place as part of the Animal Care and Control's process also be adhered to. So, we expect that, well, unless we have comments, substantially, to the past, at least, the policy incorporates an anticipated use of our land for professional dog walkers.
Mayor Willie Brown:
All right, thank you all very much for your attention, and the 13th of July is the close period, and then there will be noticed hearings by the commission if they intend to go forward. Thank you very much.
[Reporters separately conducted one-on-one interviews with group spokespersons for and against the draft policy].
transcribed by Michael B. Goldstein corrections? Hyperlinks added.