Greenbelt is back on the table as a possible site for Hermosa Beach's first off-leash dog park, six weeks after the community group driving the project had walked away from it, following a Council vote Tuesday that revived the option and put a potential November ballot measure into play.
The Hermosa Beach City Council voted 3-2 Tuesday night to advance a comprehensive feasibility study for an off-leash dog park at two locations, Valley Park East and a section of the Greenbelt between Pier Avenue and 11th Street, and directed staff to prepare a potential November ballot measure to amend the 1989 ordinance that restricts use of the Greenbelt.
The decision splits the difference between the two paths in front of the council. Bark for a Park, the community group driving the proposal, had pivoted in April to Valley Park as its sole preferred site after concluding that the cost and political risk of a citizen-sponsored Greenbelt initiative made that route impractical. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission had recommended both sites. Tuesday's vote keeps both alive and lets voters decide on the Greenbelt if the council ultimately puts a measure on the ballot.
City Clerk Martha Alvarez confirmed that adding a measure to the November ballot would cost roughly $2,000 above the existing election cost. The deadline to place a measure is August 7.
The proposed Valley Park site sits east of the restrooms and south of the native garden, just below Valley Drive. The location can support up to 12,000 square feet with separate areas for large and small dogs, and Bark for a Park has measured the distance to the nearest residences across Gould and Valley at more than 200 feet. The site has natural shading, nearby parking, an ADA-accessible bathroom, and existing irrigation, lighting, and drainage infrastructure.
The Greenbelt section runs from south of Pier Avenue to 11th Street, directly across from City Hall. The site is flat, has nearby public restrooms and parking, sits within an existing ADA-accessible trail, and would draw foot traffic past Upper Pier Avenue businesses. Gaudet Design Group's principal designer, who walked both sites with the subcommittee in January, identified the Greenbelt as the more feasible of the two, notwithstanding the potential ballot measure requirement.
The Greenbelt also carries the heaviest procedural bar. Ordinance 89-1001, adopted after voters approved the Santa Fe right-of-way purchase in 1988, requires that any amendment receive a majority Yes vote at a public election.
The city's ADA consultant has flagged accessibility as the most significant challenge at Valley Park East. The walkways, access points from the handicap parking spaces, and the slope leading into the proposed area all fall short of code, which requires accessible pathways to have a maximum running slope of 1:20 and a cross slope no greater than 1:48.
Senior Recreation Supervisor Brian Sousa told the council the consultant's rough estimate for ADA upgrades is around $60,000. Public works staff suggested the actual figure could be higher because Ardmore lacks sidewalks on the Valley Park frontage.
Councilmember Saemann pressed the city attorney on whether the existing exercise equipment, benches, and pull-up bars on the Greenbelt fit the ordinance's permitted-uses standard, which limits improvements to those "relating to landscaping, beautification, erosion control, or irrigation necessary to maintain open space."
The city attorney said there is no written record of how those structures were authorized and they were "likely authorized as a permitted accessory improvement" supporting passive recreation. Saemann pushed back: "Throwing a ball for a dog is pretty passive. A fence around it isn't any more of a construction item than putting up bars and benches."
The exchange did not change the legal conclusion that an off-leash designation on the Greenbelt requires a public vote, but it underscored an inconsistency in how the city has applied the ordinance over the years.
Public comment was sustained and split. Bark for a Park co-founder Carla Buck told the council the group has gathered more than 1,400 petition signatures, with about 60 percent supporting Valley Park East specifically, raised $80,000, and secured an additional $250,000 in matching grants pledged. In a new commitment first surfaced Tuesday night, the group also pledged to fund ongoing maintenance, not just design and construction.
One commenter, who lives 500 feet from Valley Park with a two-year-old daughter, told the council the area proposed for the dog park is "where most of the toddlers that spend time in Valley Park spend their time" and urged the council to find another location.
Resident Tony Higgins warned the council that "the perfect becomes the enemy of the good" and urged Valley Park as the "bird in the hand."
Another commenter raised environmental and budgetary concerns, citing Manhattan Beach's $84,000 annual maintenance cost for its dog park and noting Bark for a Park's maximum projected maintenance funding of $30,000 annually leaves the city absorbing at least $50,000 a year.
Approval Tuesday authorizes staff to prepare a comprehensive feasibility report for both sites. The next phase would require Public Works oversight, an MOU with Bark for a Park covering design and construction costs, a licensed design professional to prepare conceptual site plans, ADA consultant work, a grading and drainage analysis, capital and operating budget estimates, community outreach including a resident survey, and required permitting.
Bark for a Park remains responsible for funding all pre-development and construction costs. If the group cannot raise the full amount, the project does not move forward.
City staff claimed that completing a Greenbelt feasibility study in time to meet the August 7 ballot deadline would be difficult given Public Works' existing workload. The council can still place a measure on the ballot without the study complete, and refine the proposal afterward.
A future council vote will be required to approve construction at any specific site.
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The City is spending $8M to $12M a year fixing things. Available project funding for next year: $4.7M. A pandemic-era cushion that papered over the gap is gone and the unfunded backlog has now grown to somewhere between $148 million and $280 million, with the Pier replacement now added to the list.
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