By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Somehow, Mayor Leonard Desiderio was able to maintain a straight face when he gave his best guess as to what kind of reaction the hounds in town will have to Sea Isle City’s very first dog park.
“Ruff-ruff,” he said in dog speak.
After tweaking the designs, the city has come up with the latest plans for the dog park as it moves forward toward building the approximately $1 million project in time for the 2023 summer tourism season. It is proposed in the north end of town, at Seventh Street and Landis Avenue.
Sea Isle has made some changes to the designs to address comments from the Cape May County Open Space Review Board, which is expected to fund the dog park.
“We’re on track to receive funding for this project from the county, and our goal is to get the park built before the next summer season,” Desiderio said.
He noted that the latest designs will soon be presented to the public. In a related development, he will also seek City Council’s approval to go out to bid for the project.
Knowing that many families choose their vacation destination based on its pet-friendly reputation, Sea Isle has been looking to build its first dog park for years.
“I think they’re going to be happy. This is a nice area for a dog park and a great place for them to bring their best friends,” Desiderio said while speculating on the reaction pet owners will have to the project.
A dog lover himself, the mayor and his family have a shih tzu named Bruno. He and his daughter, Carmela Desiderio, visited dog parks in Ocean City, Wildwood, Upper Township and Egg Harbor Township for some ideas on amenities that would make Sea Isle’s canines and their owners happy.
A communitywide survey conducted in 2015 included responses from local residents urging the city to create more recreation attractions, including a dog park. About 40 percent of the approximately 3,000 respondents to the survey supported a dog park.
Among the amenities for new park, there will be doggy obstacles, water fountains, trees and other shrubbery for plenty of shade and double-gated entryways to provide a safe, fenced-in environment for all of the canines.
The park will be configured to have a section for small dogs and a separate area for larger dogs.
It will be built in a secluded area away from residential neighborhoods, so homeowners will not be disturbed by barking or other noise.
Parking was another consideration why the city decided to build the dog park on Landis Avenue near Seventh Street. Two new parking lots were built in the same area in 2019 as part of a restriping plan to make the Landis Avenue corridor safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. Pet owners using the dog park will be able to use the same parking lots.
During the quiet offseason months, the city lifts its ban of dogs on the beaches, giving canines and their owners a chance to get out and frolic on the wide-open shoreline.
But come summer, the vacationers take over the beaches and dogs lose their sandy playground. Without a place to call their own, dogs and their owners usually are out walking along the streets and sidewalks in the summer for exercise.
The dog park will give canines their exclusive domain for stretching their legs year-round. While the focus will be on the dogs, the park will also have something for the human visitors, including benches, bike racks and an electric charging station.
The latest designs, though, eliminate plans for an observation tower next to the dog park. Previously, the city had discussed the possibility of having a handicap-accessible observation tower high enough to peer over the surrounding dunes and marshlands, providing panoramic views of the ocean to the east and the back bays to the west.
Desiderio said that city officials, on second thought, did not want the observation tower to become a “hangout” during the off-season, so it was eliminated from the project for safety reasons.
