Dogs Welcome, Smokers And Drinkers Not As Covina Updates Park Rules | DiscountCigarettesBox.com Tobacco News

Dogs Welcome, Smokers And Drinkers Not As Covina Updates Park Rules

Parkgoers can expect new city rules this summer that will make Covina friendlier to dogs but not so to smokers and alcohol drinkers.

In addition to prohibiting smoking cigarettes and drinking in parks, the new ordinances place restrictions on bicycling and skateboarding, inflatable bounce houses and metal detectors. The ordinances passed an initial vote by the City Council on Tuesday and could go into effect in July.

The changes resulted from a series of surveys and community meetings Covina conducted in March and April.

"The comments were great," said Parks and Recreation Director Amy Hall-McGrade. "Staff can come up with ideas, but the purpose of doing these community meetings is you want to do something that people will come and use."

For dog owners, the changes could finally resolve a controversy that arose in 2003, when a group of residents proposed an off-leash dog area at Hollenbeck Park.

Covina's current ordinances don't allow dogs in parks at all, though the rule is rarely enforced, Hall-McGrade said.

The new ordinance allows dogs on leashes as long as they aren't aggressive and owners clean up after them.

"It's a great step in the right direction," said Stuart Rubin, a local dentist who led the effort to build a dog park eight years ago.

Rubin still holds out hope that Covina could build an fenced-in off-leash area at Hollenbeck Park - the perfect spot would be behind the sports fields, he said.

The City Council actually approved construction of a dog park in 2003, but it was never built. At the time, the proposal faced opposition from the Little League and it even became a city council election issue.

Rubin now takes his Australian shepherd away from the city for exercise, though his wife - who says Covina never intended to allow a dog park - doesn't mind letting the dog do its business on the lawn at City Hall.

"It's such an archaic law not to be able to take a dog to a park on a leash," Rubin said. "They had to do something ... (the rule change) is not going to change anybody's habits."

Councilman Walt Allen, who expressed doubts about a dog park in 2003, considers the ordinance update a positive change for the community.

"I'm not a dog park fan because all of the issues that go with it," he said, listing maintenance difficulties, health dangers and inconvenience for other park users.

Allowing dogs on leashes is the right solution, Allen said.

"It's going to be nice," he said. "Naturally it's a good thing as long as they have a leash and go by the rules."

The city's prohibition on alcohol will bring Covina up-to-date with surrounding areas and create a safe environment, Hall-McGrade said.

"In some cases people have behaved inappropriately," she said. "What has been occurring is alcohol in an open area and it's not monitored. It has caused some issues."

Covina joins cities such as Baldwin Park, La Verne and South Pasadena in banning smoking cigarettes in public parks. There is also a ban in Los Angeles County parks.

State law already prohibits smoking cigarettes within 25 feet of playground areas, and there was an "overwhelming amount of support" for a smoking cigarettes ban from public surveys, according to a city staff report.

Bounce houses, which Hall-McGrade says create a liability issue, will be prohibited unless they are part of city-sponsored events. Bicycles, skateboard and skates will be prohibited on city walls, steps, railings benches and other areas.

Anyone using metal detectors will have to obtain a permit from the city, and will be disallowed from digging more than three inches.

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