A pattern is forming in the years-long debate over allowing dogs in Montini Preserve, with environmentalists decrying the idea, dog owners decrying the lack of natural space set aside for them and their dogs, and the Sonoma City Council opting in favor of deciding for themselves whether to someday consider the option.
And although a vote by the council at Monday night’s meeting wasn’t on whether to allow dogs into Montini once and for all, it could be seen as another step in that direction.
“This is clearly a subject about which reasonable minds can differ,” said Councilmember Steve Barbose prior to a 4-1 vote in favor of more control over the preserve, a 98-acre parcel on the north side of town that the city is scheduled to take possession of in September.
Council members were considering whether to amend Montini Preserve’s management plan – inherited from the county’s Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, which currently owns the land – to give council members the authority to let leashed dogs into the open space preserve, should they ever choose to do so.
And after some familiar arguments from both sides, they voted 4-1 in favor of the amendment, which now heads to the Open Space District for ratification.
Monday’s discussion and vote echoed the last time the issue came up in May, with most council members saying they favored local control, and Mayor Tom Rouse opposed for environmental reasons.
“I’m concerned about the process here, where ‘local control’ has been the buzzword,” said Fred Allebach during the public comment period. “Politics is intruding on the science,” he concluded.
Lisa Summers, who described herself as a volunteer and docent on Sonoma Overlook Trail, also thought dogs were a bad idea for Montini.
At Overlook, she said – where dogs are supposed to be banned – she sees plenty of dog-related confrontations.
Similarly, she said, scofflaws will use the future Montini Trail, letting their dogs off leash there to ruin the ecosystem as well as the experience for other hikers. “Who are these volunteers” who will be required to confront them, she asked.
Others had similar stories of dog owners coming to the Overlook Trail and causing trouble for everyone else. The debate centered around “irresponsible” versus “responsible” dog owners – and on the possibility that even leashed dogs will hurt the ecosystem in Montini Preserve.
Rich Lee, president of Sonoma Valley Dog Owners and Guardians, rejected the notion, telling council members, “There is no conclusive evidence that the presence of leashed dogs on Montini Trail will have a negative impact on wildlife.”
Other dog owners chimed in as well, and a majority of council members agreed to take the next step toward letting dogs into Montini by passing the amendment.
Barbose listed several other park districts and recreation areas that allow leashed dogs, and asked, “Where’s the study showing the horrific problems that has caused that are being predicted here?”
“We need to move forward with this process,” said Councilmember Laurie Gallian.
Before the final vote, Rouse reiterated comments he made in May, telling colleagues, “I just don’t believe that we are actually listening to the bulk of our constituents by sending this thing forward.” In his opinion, “We should not have dogs on Montini Preserve, period.”
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