The Park and Recreation Commission approved a proposal to designate a section of Cold Spring Park as Newton's first off-leash dog park.
After two months of heated discussions about the topic, the commission met at City Hall on Monday night and voted 5-3 in favor of a proposal to establish the park at the ball field at the end of Duncklee Street.
As soon as signs outlining the new rules are erected, the park will open for a nine-month trial, with monthly reviews from an advisory committee.
Lee McIntyre, spokesman for the Friends of the Cold Spring Dog Park group, argued dog owners have been unofficially (and illegally) using the site for the past 25 years. He expressed optimism that the new parameters would discourage park visitors from letting their dogs run wild elsewhere in and around the park.
"Right now all off-leash activity is illegal, making it difficult to say that one thing is 'more illegal' than another," he said. "The idea is that (the park) will give us more moral authority to enforce the law and, we hope, modify people's behavior."
The crowd of more than 30 city residents expressed concerns Monday about the proposal. Numerous neighbors complained about unleashed dogs trampling on their properties.
There were also conflicting stances on whether news of the park would create an influx of dog owners from surrounding towns, leading to some spirited but ultimately unresolved debate on the matter.
Commission Chairman Francis Rice, who voted to approve the proposal, said he viewed the idea as a worthwhile provisional experiment. "I don't think (the park) is going to make things any worse, and it could make things a whole lot better," he said. "Right now nothing is being done, so this is an improvement."
Conversation about off-leash regulations has been ongoing for more than three years, since the creation of an dog park task force to research the topic in 2005.
The process moved forward in December of last year, when the Board of Aldermen approved a revision to the leash law allowing for the designation of an off-leash dog park.
However, it was not until Monday, the third time the proposal was discussed by the commission, that the dog park was formally established.
