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Use this form to send a scripted message to ______, or customize your own. A copy of this email will be sent to ______ and the Peninsula DOG team.

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To the members of the SMC Planning Commission:I strongly support the off-leash Dog Recreation Pilot Program at BOTH Pillar Point Bluffs and Quarry Park. The Pilot Program was carefully crafted by the SMC Parks Department in compliance with all State, County, and Local Coastal Program rules and policies. The Planning Commission should grant the Coastal Development Permit for this program.There is no opposition to off-leash trails at Quarry Park, a hilly eucalyptus forest, so my comments are solely on the Pillar Point Bluff trails, a level area perfect for a casual, easy stroll with a dog. Of the 24 SMC parks in the system, The Dog Work Group, Parks Department and the Board of Supervisors chose both parks for the Pilot Program because they meet the needs of different users and will provide a true test of whether off-leash trails are viable. The elderly, handicapped and families with children need off-leash trails too, and the Pillar Point Bluff trails are the perfect location for these groups.County Parks have a default rule "No dogs allowed in any Park". Before the Bluffs were purchased by POST and given to the County, off-leash walking on the trails occurred on a continuous and uninterrupted basis, so this is not a new use, as noted by Supervisor Horsley (District 3) when the BOS voted by 4-1 to approve the Pilot Program.Sanctioning 1.8 miles of trails on the Bluff will dramatically reduce off-leash dogs in the other parts of the Bluff. The Pilot Program includes entry fencing and additional signage clearly delineating where off-leash dogs are not permitted. Dog owners will have trails for their controlled off-leash dogs, a loop, so there is no need to use other Bluff trails. The clear demarcation of the off-leash and on-leash trails will also make enforcement easier.Responsible dog owners will help police the few bad park users who cause problems.  Dog owners want to keep sanctioned off-leash trails, and know that if off-leash dogs misbehave or dog owners don’t follow the pilot program rules (stay on trails, pick up waste, etc), they will lose their legal off-leash trails and any future off-leash opportunities.The Pilot Program only includes sections of two Bluff trails. This land is zoned agricultural and not protected sensitive habitat. One of the reasons the multi-stakeholder Dog Work Group, after 5 years and 31 public meetings, recommended these particular trails (and the BOS agreed) is that there is NO access to the beach, ocean or Fitzgerald Marine Reserve near these trails. Nature has provided the perfect barrier, a cliff. The environmentalist on the Work Group favored these off-leash trails at the Bluff (and Quarry Park) noting that they had less environmental impact than other SMC parks.Thank you for recognizing the need for the first ever County off-leash dog trails at the two parks carefully selected as perfect places for the Pilot Program.

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