Annex residents who attended a meeting last weekend to discuss ideas for an off-leash dog area have voted unanimously to form a community working group.
The Annex Residents' Association and local Ward 20 (Trinity-Spadina) Councillor Adam Vaughan held the joint meeting on March 1, in the chapel located at St. George's College on Howland Avenue.
The residents at the meeting voted in favour of the group 22 votes to none. Paul Martel, chair of the parks and trees committee of the Annex Residents' Association, said the community was trying to form a group about a year ago. He said the group was put on hold because the City's People, Dogs and Parks policy was still being sorted out, but the timing is right, now that the policy is set.
"It gives to me a clearer umbrella as to what will govern an off-leash space," he said.
Any community group can apply for an off-leash zone under the policy, and Martel said it will be simpler to choose with guidelines in place.
Councillor Vaughan said he has concerns with the policy because it's "driven to facilitate" dogs, and you have to take people without dogs into account.
"I understand we need to accommodate dogs, but your policy should be neutral," he said.
There are 12 parks within the Annex area and the largest park, Jean Sibelius Square, was an off-leash zone for dogs until it became scheduled for re-development last year.
Residents thought the policy was the reason Sibelius's off-leash status was cancelled, but it was an assessment being done for the re-development that cancelled it.
Annex resident Fred Freedman said the community had a meeting to discuss what to include in the Sibelius re-design, but an off-leash dog area was not included.
Dog owners at the meeting were angry, but Freedman said there wasn't much support for it at the time. Vaughan said Sibelius wouldn't qualify to be an off-leash area under the new policy anyway.
Vaughan said the quickest solution would be a temporary off-leash area in a small existing Annex park, but he offered other alternatives including two city-owned parking lots, and an open area behind the fire hall on Howland Avenue.
Resident Ian Lee said he's happy with the decision to form the group for the sake of the community.
"Having an off-leash area in a park is important to the quality of life in a neighbourhood like the Annex," he said.
Member of the Annex Dog Owners, Gillian Morton, said the group should be run by someone who exercises a dog off-leash because that person would know what makes a healthy and clean off-leash environment.
Contact Paul Martel at paulmartel@bellnet.ca for information about the working group, its conditions, or how to contact the Annex Dog Owners. The People, Dogs and Parks policy is available at www.toronto.ca/parks/dogs.htm.