Dog owners could soon have a new space to take their pups out for a day on the beach as the Long Beach City Council readies to ask city staff to explore the possibility of creating a new dog beach closer to Downtown.
Rosie’s Dog Beach, a 4.1-acre area in Belmont Shore where dogs can run around off leash in the sand, opened in 2003. It’s home to a number of dog-centric gatherings like the annual Haute Dogs Bulldog Beauty Contest—the beach is named in memory of a bulldog named Rosie—and other large dog events.
Now, Councilmember Cindy Allen is asking for a second area of the city’s shoreline to be dedicated for use by dogs. The council will vote on the issue at its July 18 meeting.
Allen represents the city’s 2nd City Council District, which includes the shoreline between Alamitos Beach and Bluff Park. Allen’s letter to the council says that having a second dog beach would provide people living west of Belmont Shore easier access to a dog beach.
While the letter doesn’t specify a location on the beach, it does indicate that the new dog beach should be within Allen’s district. The city’s 2nd and 3rd City Council districts have almost all of the city’s beach access areas.
The letter asks city management to work with the city’s Parks, Recreation and Marine Department to identify potential spaces where a new dog beach could be established, including the size and boundaries of any proposed areas.
Creating a new dog beach could also require the California Coastal Commission to sign off on the project. The commission approved the initial opening of the area in 2003 and voted again in 2013 to expand the area where off-leash dogs could roam around on the sand.
If the council approves Allen’s request, a report on where a new dog beach could be created could be returned to the council by September.
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