[BCNnet] Update re:Cook County dog parks
Rbdoeker@aol.com
Rbdoeker@aol.com
Wed, 7 Jan 2004 19:59:44 EST
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Here is my main point of advice: Don't write letters, etc., until May. If
you send them earlier, the letters will just be stuck in a file. (And possibly
lost as they shuffle things around while dealing with the offices closed by
the fire.)
Second: don't assume they are clueless dolts. Not only is the chief legal
officer for the FP a respected former judge, 7 of the commissioners are
attorneys. Liability is an issue they deal with on a continuing basis. (And they
appear very sensitive to it but if they took a conservative approach, no one
would be allowed on any FP land.)
Supt. Bylina will need letters with reasonable arguments and personal
experiences when the time comes to discuss the Beck Lake DFA pilot. We've basically
been told that cost is not an issue and liability is as under control as a
landowner can make it.
There is probably a good issue regarding the fence being needed because of
liability and we don't support fenced areas, thus no DFA. (Unfortunately there
are successful DFAs that don't have fences - but the staff may not share that
with the Commissioners because....)
Bylina himself does not like fencing off any land for exclusive use. And he
may not like DFAs but he is not in a position to state that.
It will be very useful if some of the letters [sent in May :> ] include
comments about first-hand experiences at Beck Lake. So far there have been no
reports of any problems with dogs.
For those of you who do visit that area, please look for damage done by the
dogs to the habitat and by any signs of dog poop. I've been told that there
has been a problem in other FP-type DFAs with the poop attracting rats.
Randi Doeker
In a message dated 1/7/2004 6:30:28 PM Central Standard Time,
judymellin@netzero.net writes:
Many of us feel that this issue goes far beyond the dog runs. We are
extremely concerned about the allocation of public land to ANY private use, whether
it is dog runs or horse training areas or garden clubs. The Forest Preserve
68,000 acres belong to the taxpayers, not to any special interest group.
While the dog runs are the current "hot button" topic, I feel we need to
stress the core mission of
the FPD which is to "preserve, protect and restore the natural land" and
allocating any land with fences and fees does not meet this core mission
statement.
By the same token, if the FPD is to permit any more dog runs (and I'm hoping
everyone will oppose that), these are the very issues that need to be dealt
with. Far beyond the initial cost of a fence is the maintenance (and those of
us involved in restoration work know that EVERY fence comes down) and the
liability issues. What has to be looked at is not only what happens if a dog gets
loose and attacks someone but what happens if one dog attacks another- or
attacks an owner or one owner attacks another- within the fenced area?
This is a huge issue and must be dealt with in full knowledge of all the
"what ifs". I have been writing to the commissioners about the whole issue of
allocating land to individual groups but, if that concept does not fly, then all
of these outside issues have to be addressed.
For those of you who may not have seen it, the Pioneer Press carried a story
in its issue near River Forest. This is from that article:
"Realistically, we'd like 25 acres," said Linda Funk of Elmwood Park, who has
been scouting sites for the group. "They'd like to put us by a freeway and
we don't want an undesirable location or a site with a small acreage of land.
Out of 68,000 acres of forest preserve land, we should be able to find
something."
Nearby parking is important, Funk said. The group also wants a site with
water, shelter and a rest room or portable toilet."
Unfortunately, Chicago Ornithological Society has drawn up a proposal
advocating the granting of land for dog parks. This is from their plan:
The CCFPD has within its land management guidelines specified that no more
than 12% of its holdings (currently at about 68,000 acres) be developed for
recreation, COS recommends that no more than 0.5% or 340 acres of CCFPD be
designated as DFAs.
B. Individual DFAs should not exceed five acres.
This would allow 68 of these or one per 1000 acres of FPD land.
Judy Mellin
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<DIV>
<DIV>Here is my main point of advice: Don't write letters, etc., until=
May. If you send them earlier, the letters will just be stuck in a fi=
le. (And possibly lost as they shuffle things around while dealing wit=
h the offices closed by the fire.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Second: don't assume they are clueless dolts. Not only is t=
he chief legal officer for the FP a respected former judge, 7 of the commiss=
ioners are attorneys. Liability is an issue they deal with on a contin=
uing basis. (And they appear very sensitive to it but if they took a c=
onservative approach, no one would be allowed on any FP land.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Supt. Bylina will need letters with reasonable arguments and personal e=
xperiences when the time comes to discuss the Beck Lake DFA pilot. =
; We've basically been told that cost is not an issue and liability is as un=
der control as a landowner can make it.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>There is probably a good issue regarding the fence being need=
ed because of liability and we don't support fenced areas, thus no DFA.=
(Unfortunately there are successful DFAs that don't have fences - but=
the staff may not share that with the Commissioners because....)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Bylina himself does not like fencing off any land for exclusive use.&nb=
sp;And he may not like DFAs but he is not in a position to state that.&=
nbsp; </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It will be very useful if some of the letters [sent in May=20=
:> ] include comments about first-hand experiences at Beck La=
ke. So far there have been no reports of any problems with dogs.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>For those of you who do visit that area, <STRONG>please look for damage=
done by the dogs to the habitat and by any signs of dog poop</STRONG>. =
; I've been told that there has been a problem in other FP-type DFAs wi=
th the poop attracting rats.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Randi Doeker</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 1/7/2004 6:30:28 PM Central Standard Time, judymelli=
n@netzero.net writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style=3D"PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue=20=
2px solid">
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>Many of us feel that this issue goes far beyond the=20=
dog runs. We are extremely concerned about the allocation of public la=
nd to ANY private use, whether it is dog runs or horse training areas or gar=
den clubs. The Forest Preserve 68,000 acres belong to the taxpayers, n=
ot to any special interest group.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>While the dog runs are the current "hot button" topi=
c, I feel we need to stress the core mission of</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>the FPD which is to "preserve, protect and rest=
ore the natural land" and allocating any land with fences and fees does not=20=
meet this core mission statement. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>By the same token, if the FPD is to permit any more=20=
dog runs (and I'm hoping everyone will oppose that), these are the very issu=
es that need to be dealt with. Far beyond the initial cost of a fence=20=
is the maintenance (and those of us involved in restoration work know that E=
VERY fence comes down) and the liability issues. What has to be looked=
at is not only what happens if a dog gets loose and attacks someone but wha=
t happens if one dog attacks another- or attacks an owner or one owner attac=
ks another- within the fenced area? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>This is a huge issue and must be dealt with in full=20=
knowledge of all the "what ifs". I have been writing to the commission=
ers about the whole issue of allocating land to individual groups but, if th=
at concept does not fly, then all of these outside issues have to be address=
ed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial>For those of you who may not have seen it, the Pione=
er Press carried a story in its issue near River Forest. This is from=20=
that article:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial></FONT> </DIV>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3DArial>"Reali=
stically, we'd like 25 acres," said Linda Funk of Elmwood Park, who has been=
scouting sites for the group.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPA=
N>"They'd like to put us by a freeway and we don't want an undesirable locat=
ion or a site with a small acreage of land.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"=
> </SPAN>Out of 68,000 acres of forest preserve land, we should be abl=
e to find something."</FONT></P>
<DIV><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-fa=
mily: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-=
US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Nearby parking is important, Funk said.<SPAN s=
tyle=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The group also wants a site with wa=
ter, shelter and a rest room or portable toilet."</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-fa=
mily: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-=
US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN><FONT face=3DArial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-fa=
mily: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-=
US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Unfortunately, Chicago Ornithological Society=20=
has drawn up a proposal advocating the granting of land for dog parks. =
This is from their plan:</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-fa=
mily: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-=
US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN><FONT face=3DArial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-fa=
mily: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-=
US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">The CCFPD has within its land management guide=
lines specified that no more than 12% of its holdings (currently at about 68=
,000 acres) be developed for recreation, COS recommends that no more than 0.=
5% or 340 acres of CCFPD be designated as DFAs.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-fa=
mily: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-=
US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FA=
MILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language:=20=
EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN><FONT f=
ace=3DArial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-fa=
mily: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-=
US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">B. Individual DFAs should not exceed fiv=
e acres.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-fa=
mily: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-=
US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN><FONT face=3DArial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-fa=
mily: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-=
US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">This would allow 68 of these or one per 1000 a=
cres of FPD land. </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-fa=
mily: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-=
US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN><FONT face=3DArial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-fa=
mily: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-=
US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Jud</SPAN><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT=
-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-languag=
e: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">y Mellin</S=
PAN></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
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