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Poland council tables dog-leash ordinance
POLAND
Village council has decided to table an ordinance that would have required dogs to be leashed in all areas of Poland Municipal Forest.
“We’re going to revisit it in a year. ...I think we’re going to try to add signs and make people more aware of what’s going on,” said Mayor Tim Sicafuse.
Sicafuse said council has asked police to enforce the existing leash law more stringently. The original ordinance states that dogs can be unleashed from Butler Trail to Interstate 680, which is in the western part of the forest, but must be leashed in the remaining area, including the popular Bluebell Trail. The ordinance was approved by council in December 2007 and has a potential penalty of a $100 fine.
The decision goes against the recommendations of the Poland Forest Board. Many of the residents who attended the first reading of the ordinance, however, said that the problem could be alleviated if the village enforced the leash law better and had clearer boundary signs in the forest.
Poland Municipal Forest is the only area in its vicinity that allows dogs without leashes.
The Poland township park does have a leash law throughout the area, said Mike Heher, chairman of Poland township park board.
“One thing we’re exploring is trying to set aside a certain area for dogs so they can run,” Heher said. “... But right now, everyone has to have their dog leashed anywhere in the park.”
In Boardman Park, all dogs have to be on a leash at all times. With the planned dog park, Paws Town, there will be a fenced area where dogs can be unleashed, said Executive Director Daniel Slagle.
Linda Kostka, marketing and development director for Mill Creek MetroParks, said dogs are not permitted in all areas of the park, but where they are allowed, they must be leashed.
“They have to be nonaggressive, under handler control and leashed with a 6-foot maximum leash at all times,” Kostka said. “... We ask people not to use the retractable leashes, because we have hikers, bikers and roller bladers, and dogs can go too far and get tangled up with those folks.”