Pet friendly area

Our complex has a large fenced common area. In part of the area there is a fenced-in pool, club house and grassy area. There is a sign that no pets allowed. Some homeowners would like the grassy area to be "dog friendly". I am on the board and also a dog owner, I would love to see the area used. What kind of problems could we be facing legally if we let this be an open area? One thing it would be clearly stated "any poop not cleaned up, the area is back to no pets".

The real question is just how much of a dog area you're looking to make. If it's simply an area where people can walk their pets then it's treated no differently than other common areas other than taking down the no pets sign and advising owners of the rule change. No need to make a big production out of it and formally designate it a pet area or anything. If it's going to be an off-leash dog park style then there are other considerations -- I like Michele's idea of checking with your local park authority to see what they've run into.

If it's fenced with an access gate you run the chance of people assuming it's an open run (off leash) area. In that case you'd want to a sign that reminds owners that all regular pet rules apply - leash, poop pick-up, etc.

There shouldn't be any legal concerns since allowing dogs in common areas is extremely common and is probably already allowed on your property to some extent (otherwise how do people walk their dogs?). On the other hand if you want to turn it into a designated off-leash dog park then it could get more complicated from both a legal and management/control perspective.

Laura,

Our BOD is doing research (as we speak!) on turning a large common area tract into a dog park. If there are any in your area you might want to contact the authority and ask questions. I'll post any info we get but we won't have another meeting until the middle of the month.

Laura,

After I posted, I realized my BOD does not meet in Dec, so it will be awhile b/4 I have more info. If you want to leave your email address I'll gladly get back to you when I have more info.

If there are any dog parks in the Scottsdale area you may want to check with them regarding liability issues, etc.

As far as the "poop" issue goes, there are receptables that dispense plastic bags that are very useful. We have them throughout our HOA which is comprised of 17 s/d's. The only drawback is that vandals will sometimes steal the plastic bags!