Ebey Island Dog Park

August 2009

The Ebey Island Dog Park is the only privately operated free public dog park in the US. Open to all at no charge. We're located one mile east of downtown Everett, WA, in the rural Ebey Island farming community, right next to the Highway 2 trestle on the road east to Stevens Pass. Driving directions here.

One of the quieter moments of a recent mid-winter day.

Latest News:

August 2009: As of August 1st, we've reopened the park full time, so it's now open during the day.

The problem was that so many people were not controlling their dogs either inside or outside the park and it was causing so many problems that we were at risk of getting shut down due to public safety issues, which trump the legality of the activity.

Outside the park, dogs were chasing the neighbor's livestock and coming close to getting legally shot, but the neighbor has now reinforced his gate, so loose dogs can't get onto his property.

Inside, there was the usual issue at all dog parks of a few big dogs not interacting well with young/timid dogs. The main problem, as usual, is clueless owners. To address that, we're expanding the Low Impact Zone and re-naming it the Hard Core Play Zone.

Hopefully, these changes will result in our goal: That everyone have a good time.

May 2009: We've had some serious issues with a tiny minority of visitors not leashing their dogs between their cars and inside the park entrance and harassing and even killing the livestock of our neighbors. Not only does letting your dog loose outside of the park cause trouble for everyone else, there's a chance that it will be hit by cars driving by, and it's also a violation of the county leash laws, which are in effect everywhere in Snohomish county outside of private land.

So, we have been forced to forego the typical self-governance of all other off-leash parks. From now on, the Ebey Island dog park will be open only at such times that there is a Docent or moderator either present or nearby to help to maintain order. The park will continue to remain open to the public during the times when 90% of our visitors come anyway. This is Saturdays and Sundays, as well as weekday evenings after 5 PM, as volunteer moderators are available.

We still need more responsible Docents and moderators to commit to helping cover a regular time block on both weekends and weekday evenings for about a four hour block once a week. Ideally, there will be at least two such at all times. Volunteers in this capacity will also receive a no-cost "all-access" membership that provides full access to the park during all daylight hours. For further information on becoming a Docent or moderator, please send us an email.

Later this spring, about mid-May, we'll be able to open up the pasture to the south of the park for parking and will be moving the entry gate to the center of this pasture. This fall, we hope to move the dog park access to the area of the farm east of the current gate, by the century-old barn next to the trestle.

April 17, 2009

We're still alive! After 9 stress-filled months of cooperating with, then battling, a county code enforcement system that is still baffling in its actions, "they ain't killed us, yet."

It would be nice to believe that Justice and Right have finally prevailed, but that simply isn't the case. Without rehashing all of the details, which are covered below, the dog park would have been shut down by now, except for the repeated support actions by one person: Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon.

Again and again and again, when the "system" had us on the ropes, it has been Executive Reardon who has personally stepped in to protect the dog park, and us, the canine-loving citizens of Snohomish County. Thanks to his proactive leadership, the current situation is that the county code enforcement division is now acting in a reasonable fashion, regarding the dog park, at least.

And, more importantly, Executive Reardon will be introducing new legislation to the County Council to enact new laws that will legalize the continued operation of the Ebey Island Dog Park. This will be a permanent solution.

This new legislation is currently being written and will be introduced for a council vote later this year. We'll keep you posted on this progress and, once there is a formal bill for the council to vote upon, provide details on how you can support the bill with your local county councilmember.

In the meantime, we need to do our part now and let Executive Reardon know how much we appreciate his ongoing leadership in making our county a better place for dogs and dog owners. Not just for protecting EbeyDog, but also for his other ongoing efforts to expand canine companion resources throughout the county, too. Whatever your political affiliation, this is exactly the type of positive leadership that we always expect from our elected leaders, and so seldom see. So, when this does happen, we need to encourage it by sharing our appreciation.

Won't you please take just a moment to send Executive Reardon a quick email to let him know what the Ebey Island Dog Park means to you, and to make your voice heard by personally thanking him for his ongoing leadership in protecting it? You can be sure that he will read it.

His email address is County.executive@co.snohomish.wa.us Thanks!

With this reprieve, we now feel comfortable in moving forward to make EbeyDog an even better place. So far, we're just getting warmed up in building a serious Canine Community Center.

We've had a couple of recent work parties to spread wood chips and clear out blackberries to create additional parking, with more coming. New and stronger fencing is planned along the coyote-battered south fence. As soon as we figure out how to pay for them, we'll be installing porta-potties and 600' of new fencing in the next pasture west. The new space will let us both nearly double the size of the Natural Dog zone and also begin building the new K-9 Sports center.

Stay tuned, and don't forget to bring down your used plastic bags for "recycling."

Recent News:

As you may have heard, last summer someone in the Snohomish County code enforcement division decided that since the dog park didn't easily fit into the vision for land use that was formulated many decades ago (we didn't even have dog parks back then), it must obviously be forced into the same category as a baseball stadium and therefore prohibited. There never was a complaint by anyone and this low-level decision was made in spite of the fact that the dog park had been vetted by top county ag land use planners before we ever drove the first fence post. This official action set off a no-holds-barred deathmatch that not only could have resulted in this popular dog park being shut down, but resulted in fines of $100 per day.

After months of fruitless and stress-filled exchanges with the code enforcement officer, thanks to the leadership of Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon, the formal code enforcement case was ordered to be withdrawn, and it was. Executive Reardon personally assured me that this problem will "be resolved." You can read an article in the Everett Herald about what happened here.

The formal "code interpretation" that was ordered by Executive Reardon to be conducted by the SnoCo Planning and Development Services was completed. After months of waiting, the verdict of the hearing officer was that a temporarily-fenced pasture where people walk with their dogs belongs in the same land use category as a baseball stadium. Really!! Therefore, it was prohibited under current zoning. She gave no legal basis for this use definition.

We were only given 10 working days to file a complex legal appeal, and to pay a $500 filing fee for the privilage of seekng justice. We could have prepared the appeal in time, but we didn't have a spare $500. It was at this point that Executive Reardon rode to the rescue, ordering Code Enforcement to "suspend further action" at least until the county council legislative process plays out. This is where things stand now.

But, one of the real positives to come out of this battle is the strong community bonds that have formed between neighbors who would never have otherwise met, and their ongoing support of the dog park. With all of us working together, we're well on our way to help build Snohomish County into "the most dog-friendly region in the state."

One issue that remains is that of covering the expenses of leasing the land upon which the dog park is located, plus waste disposal etc. We receive no government funding and all costs are covered out of my pocket, plus a small amount of public financial support. To date, I have spent nearly $10,000 in personal funds and loans to open and maintain the park, and I am not a wealthy person. My commitment remains unquenchable to keep the park open at no cost to the public. But it would be nice to at least break even on the monetary expenses, if not my time.

It would be even nicer to start building up the funds to install at least 600 feet of 6' fencing and a wide variety of K-9 sports equipment in the empty 3 acre pasture next door, to the west, of the current Natural Dog Zone, doubling the size of the dog park. We also need to bring in some Porta-Potties.

There is a new secure voluntary donation box at the entrance, with a suggested donation of $1 per dog per day. To be honest, though, only about 1 in 10 visitors makes a donation. And, some folks have expressed concern about leaving significant donations there. So, we've returned the Google Checkout form to the How You Can Help page. If you'd like to provide some much-needed support for the dog park via your credit or debit card, this is a very secure way to do so. If you'd prefer to mail a check, we've also added a mailing address. Thanks!

If you need to reach us, you can send an email to LeadDog@ebeydog.org.

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