Dog owners unleash over council’s off-leash ban at popular lagoon
A BITTER battle between dog owners and residents overlooking Queenscliff Lagoon has resulted in a council decision to ban off-leash dogs near the water on weekends.
A BITTER battle between dog owners and residents overlooking Queenscliff Lagoon has resulted in a council decision to ban off-leash dogs near the water on weekends.
It follows long-running tension between the two groups, which even resulted in dog faeces being smeared over a house fence and car near the lagoon.
The Manly Daily this week spoke to a number of dog owners and there is no suggestion of any bad behaviour being undertaken either by them or their dogs.
The ban means dogs cannot be let off their leashes to frolic in the water on a Saturday or Sunday — with fines up to $220 to be dished out to those who do not obey.
The decision made by Northern Beaches Council administrator Dick Persson was a last-minute amendment to a council staff recommendation for a ban only in the early morning and late nights of weekends.
At a fiery council meeting, Greycliff St resident John Geber complained about constant barking and out-of-control dogs entering the yards of properties.
He told the council he had been threatened by dog owners and the situation was out of control. He said his home was at the top of a valley so the noise travelled up.
“When you have 30 dogs an hour in front of your home ... people are throwing sticks ... (screaming) ‘fetch, fetch, fetch’, there are dogs barking ... that is not fair,” he said.
“If you had a kennel next to you with 300 dogs and there were 30 or 60 an hour barking, you would have the right to go to your council, get a noise abatement order and something would be done.”
But angry dog owners say they have been blindsided by the decision, with Mitch Geddes of Pittwater Unleashed saying the administrator “made a mockery of the consultation process”.
“Spend a bomb on community consultation, tick a box, then ignore the findings,” he said. “He shamelessly set aside the strong community support for status quo, and sprang a ban on dog owners without notice.”
Mr Persson said he had made two visits to the area, and witnessed first hand the noise. He used a video sent to him by one resident showing a large amount of dogs barking to justify his position.
“Dogs in a large group tend to bark more than individually, they seem to get excited by the play and it is lovely that they are having a good time,” he said.
“But I think the consequence on the people living above is disproportionate with the people who may not have access to that area all the time.”
He argued his ruling was a fair compromise, and dismissed arguments that the more than 600-signature petition should carry more weight,
Another resident of the waterfront street said not everyone was concerned by the noise, and some had objected to any change.
“We do hear noise from the dogs, but on the weekends we hear a lot more noise from the children’s play area and trucks,” one resident said. “You really have to look at where we live, it is not a rural area — there is going to be some noise.”
But Mr Geber said of the 14 homes, 90 per cent agreed with him.
“Three people were frightened to speak,” he said. “They have had dogs in their homes. I had a dog in my second floor chasing my cat. It is completely out of control.”
He said both he and his neighbours had been threatened by dog walkers.
“The noise, the stress these things get to you,” he said at the meeting.
Queenscliff resident Bruce Denley said it had split up a happy community.
“I don’t understand why we are at the bottom of the chain always. There is enough space for kids, for cyclists, for everyone — this is our only place within walking distance now it has been taken from us,” he said.
“I can’t get there during these hours, I have a nine to five job during the week.
“The only other places available are dustbowls in the summer, muddy in the winter and rented out for other things half the time.”
At the meeting, Mr Persson indicated the area needed to be controlled due to its proximity to houses.
“He’s actually making our case for dog exercise on certain parts of certain beaches at certain times of day,” Mr Geddes said.
He pointed to north Palm Beach as one example, with houses more than 1km away.
Another off-leash advocacy group Manly Dogs was also critical of the decision.
Group president Suzanne Cairns, said the decision was “undemocratic”.
“Council had organised a poll to gauge community data. And petitions were also submitted,” she said. “The petition data that we hold indicates that 656 (96 per cent) of respondents were in favour of keeping the lagoon available to dogs.”
She said changes at LM Graham Reserve and the banning of off-leash on weekends left them with few places to go.
Mr Persson said: “You won’t necessarily win an argument with me by getting lots of people to sign a petition. It is the quality of the argument and, to be frank, there is no doubt there is a bunch of residents experiencing an unreasonable amount of inconvenience.”
“I think if you ask yourself, how would I feel if this was me, most reasonable people would say no, I think this is too much.”
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