Honorable Mayor and Members of the Coral Gables City Commission:

We stand with our friends and neighbors in the University Green Neighbors Association in Opposition to the proposed off-leash bark park at 520 University Drive, in front of the Coral Gables Library and directly adjacent to single family homes.

Our objections include the following:

The neighborhood was never consulted in using the passive green space in this quiet single family neighborhood for a large bark park exclusively for dogs and their owners. Yet, three commissioners voted for it anyway. The neighborhood has repeatedly asked the City Commission and City staff to stop the process. A 40,000 square foot dog park would bring significant noise (persistent barking, early mornings and late nights); increase traffic and parking congestion; sanitation and odor issues; safety concerns for children, elderly, disabled and pets; disrupt the fragile ecosystem (including the nearby butterfly garden); and potentially decrease property values-especially for those homes closest to the site. 

The proposal is not in compliance with Coral Gables or Miami-Dade County Codes.

No traffic study or parking study has been done to measure impacts of this large bark park on the Coral Gables Library, the Coral Gables Youth Center, and the single-family neighborhood nor has any comprehensive dog park master plan been developed. University Drive is a busy east-west corridor for commuters and buses, and a major access point for Fire Rescue transporting patients. 

The Library and the Youth Center are already short on parking and a dog park would make it worse. The Coral Gables Library is the 2nd or 3rd busiest in the 50 branch system, with an annual door count of 372,000 patrons, 15,000 special event attendees, and 25,000 voters in the early voting periods. The Youth Center with year round playing fields, tournaments, theater performances, classes and special event rentals also bring cares, school buses, traffic and energy daily. The passive green space serves as a needed buffer while also providing occasional overflow parking for hyper-peak times. 

The City has no operational plan, no enforcement procedures, no capital program and no maintenance dollars identified for the project.

If another bark park is needed, please conduct the appropriate studies and community engagement to identify a neighborhood that would welcome the dog park while ensuring it would be consistent with all city and county codes and regulations.