CAI-NJ Aug. 2019(w)

You Can’t Roll Over and Play Dead When PLANNING FOR A DOG PARK

By Russ Fernandes, Principal, Becht Engineering BT, Inc., Jennifer F. Lynch, CIC, AAI, NFP Property & Casualty, and Mary W. Barrett, Esq., Stark & Stark

P eople choose to live in community associations for many reasons: convenience, socializing, and of course, the amenities! Amenities today include golf courses, equestrian stables, marinas, landing strips for aircraft and one amenity that is gaining a lot of populari- ty: dog parks! This comes as no surprise. The Insurance Institute reports that in 2017 there were over 60 million households in the United States with dogs and that people spent an estimated 69 BILLION dollars on their pets! Dog lovers seek a convenient place to unleash their dogs for exercise while making new friends that share a common interest. Let’s call it canine camaraderie! The following information is not intended to serve as design guidance but rather to provide some food for thought if you are considering creating a dog park. ENGINEERING Approvals First! It sounds simple, right? Put up some fence and let the dogs have some fun. However, planning

for a dog park, like so much else in life, requires some preliminary research and a good design. To start with, assuming the association’s governing documents do not prohibit such a facility check with the municipality to see what requirements they might have that could interfere with Fido having some fun. Some municipalities might require a site plan for review and approvals, for example. Not an insurmountable problem, but the municipality might add some requirements that could increase the cost of the project beyond what was originally anticipated. The municipality might have specific requirements already. If not, a quick goo- gle search will turn up several sources for “best practices” that will provide some design guidance. A Good Design. With all the necessary approvals in hand, the next step is the design. And there is a lot to consider. What size will the facility be? Bigger is better so that the dogs will have plenty of open space and will be less likely to become territorial. Also, what type of fencing will you use and what type of ground surface? There are

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