Station Beach Dog Off Leash Area – Proposed Trial Community Engagement Report
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STATION BEACH DOG OFF LEASH AREA – PROPOSED TRIAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REPORT FINAL REPORT 13 JUNE 2019 NORTHERN BEACHES COUNCIL STATION BEACH DOG OFF LEASH AREA – PROPOSED TRIAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REPORT FINAL REPORT 13 JUNE 2019 Parkland Planners ABN: 33 114 513 647 PO Box 41 FRESHWATER NSW 2096 tel: (02) 9938 1925 mob: 0411 191 866 [email protected] www.parklandplanners.com.au DIRECTOR: Sandy Hoy CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................I Background ...................................................................................................................... I Parameters of the trial ........................................................................................................ I Community engagement process ...................................................................................... I Submissions received ....................................................................................................... II Views about the Station Beach trial .................................................................................. III Views about the trial location ............................................................................................ X Views about the trial period ............................................................................................. XII Views about the proposed trial days and times ................................................................ XII Suggestions for ensuring the success of the Station Beach trial ......................................XIV Desire for other off leash areas .......................................................................................XIV 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................1 1.1 Background .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Purpose of this report ................................................................................................ 5 1.3 Process of preparing this report ................................................................................. 5 1.4 Contents of this report ..............................................................................................10 2 OUTCOMES OF WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS ......................11 2.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................11 2.2 Views about dog off leash area trial at Station Beach .................................................15 2.3 Trial location .............................................................................................................45 2.4 Trial period of 12 months ..........................................................................................50 2.5 Trial days and times of operation ...............................................................................53 2.6 Requirements for success of the Station Beach off leash trial .....................................62 2.7 Other comments.......................................................................................................63 3 CONCLUSION .....................................................................71 STATION BEACH DOG OFF LEASH AREA – PROPOSED TRIAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REPORT - FINAL i PARKLAND PLANNERS Figures Figure 1 Concept Plan of Proposed Dog Off Leash Area at Station Beach ........................... 2 Figure 2 Process of preparing this report ............................................................................ 6 Figure 3 Examples of Council notices ................................................................................. 9 Figure 4 Postcode of respondents to Your Say Northern Beaches .....................................14 Figure 5 Support for dog off leash area trial at Station Beach .............................................15 Figure 6 Support for the trial by postcode ..........................................................................17 Figure 7 Support for the proposed trial location .................................................................45 Figure 8 Support for the proposed trial period of 12 months ...............................................51 Figure 9 Support for the proposed days and times of operation of the trial..........................54 Figure 10 Ocean beaches desired for off-leash dog access ..................................................66 Tables Table 1 Community engagement undertaken by Northern Beaches Council ........................... 6 Table 2 Sources of written feedback about proposed trial of off leash dog area at Station Beach .....................................................................................................................11 Table 3 Support for dog off leash area trial at Station Beach .................................................15 Table 4 Support for the Station Beach trial by postcode .......................................................18 Table 5 Support for the proposed trial location .....................................................................45 Table 6 Support for the Station Beach trial location by postcode ..........................................46 Table 7 Support for the proposed trial period of 12 months ..................................................51 Table 8 Summary of support for the Station Beach trial period by postcode ..........................51 Table 9 Support for proposed days and times of operation of the trial ...................................54 Table 10 Summary of support for the Station Beach trial days and times by postcode .........55 Table 11 Ocean beaches desired for off-leash dog access ..................................................66 Appendices A ONLINE NOTICES ..........................................................................................................73 B MEDIA ARTICLES ..........................................................................................................79 C DETAILED WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS .............................................................................83 STATION BEACH DOG OFF LEASH AREA – PROPOSED TRIAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REPORT - FINAL ii PARKLAND PLANNERS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background Over many years local residents and community groups have advocated for the community to be able to access and enjoy foreshore areas with their dogs on the Northern Beaches. Council resolved at its meeting on 26 June 2018 to undertake community consultation regarding a potential trial dog off leash area at Station Beach. A range of key stakeholders have been consulted with prior to a decision being made about conducting the trial, including State government agencies which have responsibilities for the management of Station Beach and the Pittwater waterway. Such agencies are NSW Department of Industry-Lands and Water, NSW Department of Industry-Fisheries, and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Parameters of the trial Council has proposed the following parameters for the off-leash trial at Station Beach, which is the basis for the community engagement undertaken from November 2018 to February 2019. Trial location The trial would be undertaken on a specified section of Station Beach south of The Boathouse and north of Beach Road. Trial period The proposed trial would be conducted over a period of 12 months. The exact dates of the trial will be determined following consideration of the feedback received during the community engagement undertaken from November 2018 to February 2019. Should Council resolve for the trial to proceed, environmental monitoring would be undertaken and community feedback would be collected during the trial period. Trial days and times It is proposed that the trial area would be available for dog off leash exercising and swimming at these days and times: 4:00pm - 10:30am, 7 days a week during Australian Eastern Standard Time 5:30pm - 10:30am, Monday to Friday during Australian Eastern Daylight Time (in the summer). Community engagement process The ‘Your Say Northern Beaches’ project page and online submission form went live on Council’s website on 16 November 2018. Between ‘going live’ and the closing date for submissions of 28 February 2019, Council undertook the following community engagement tasks: STATION BEACH DOG OFF LEASH AREA – PROPOSED TRIAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REPORT - FINAL I PARKLAND PLANNERS Notices in Council’s column ‘Northern Beaches Weekly News’ in the Manly Daily on Saturdays 17 and 24 November, 22 December, 12 January, and 9 and 23 February 17 and 24 November - advertisement in the Manly Daily 21 and 22 November - letter box drop to nearby residents 26 November - signs installed at Station Beach 28 November – notification emails to key stakeholders: Boathouse Café, Channel 7 Home and Away, Dunes, North Palm Beach SLSC, Palm Beach Golf Club, Palm Beach Surf Club, Palm Beach Whale Beach Association, Seven Network (Operations) 28 November, and fortnightly to the Community Engagement Register 29 November - drop in session at Palm Beach Golf Club 6-8pm (14 people attended, 10 listed on attendance register) 1 December - drop in session at Palm Beach Golf Club –2:30 to 4:30pm (8 people attended) media releases issued throughout the community engagement period. e-mails sent to people involved in recent dog-related projects Repeat emails sent to key stakeholders and community registers. Feature articles were published in the Manly Daily,