UPDATE: Delray Beach city leaders have decided not to move forward with a proposed dog beach. Dogs will remain prohibited from beaches in Delray Beach.
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ORIGINAL STORY:
You might be allowed to bring your dog on the beach in Delray Beach. City leaders will consider a proposal tonight creating a dog beach.
Bob Brewer said his Golden Retriever, Ben, gets excited every time he sees the ocean.
“He seems to be able to smell the saltwater,” Brewer said.
But it’s illegal for Ben to be on the beach in Delray. And Brewer said Boca Raton’s dog beach is too expensive for non-residents. Which leaves Jupiter as the only option.
“It’s basically a 90-mile round trip to spend about a half hour on the beach,” Brewer said.
Tuesday, city leaders will review a plan to allow dogs on Atlantic Dunes Park, a beach on the city’s southern edge. The dogs would be allowed on the beach Friday, Saturday and Sunday for about three hours after sunrise and three hours before sunset.
Dog owners would have to pay for a permit to bring their dogs on the beach.
“It’s just a lot easier if we had a designated area, limited times, where we can control what’s going on,” Brewer said, supporting the proposal.
The problem is the city manager doesn’t like this proposal. In a memo, Don Cooper wrote permitting and cleaning the beach would cost the city more money than estimated.
“It sounds great, but I think it better be carefully scrutinized, watched and monitored,” said Chris Termini, who visits Atlantic Dunes Park several times a week.
He worries having dogs there would cause conflicts between pet owners and beach goers.
Delray City Commissioner Mitch Katz invited NewsChannel 5 along as he checked out Boca Raton’s dog beach. After speaking with rangers and dog owners, he said a similar program could fit in Delray.
“We have to weigh the balances to see if we can make it work. If we can, I think we should move forward,” Katz said.
For Ben’s sake, Bob hopes other decision makers agree.
“It’s something we want and it’s something we can do,” Brewer pointed out.
The city commission meets at 6 p.m. at city hall. The dog beach proposal is the last item on the agenda. The public will be allowed to speak on the topic.
