The Project Wide Advisory Committee has backed down on a controversial plan for a fence at an unsanctioned dog park.
PWAC members on Monday morning had a lengthy discussion about the fence, which had been approved in March and then tabled last month. It was to be put up at a three-acre parcel along the multi-modal path that parallels Morse Boulevard south of County Road 466A. A Premier homeowner had complained about noise and smell from dogs on the public green space in back of his residence.
PWAC had previously approved a $5,700 two-board fence. After an outcry from dog-walking residents, the committee tabled the matter last month.
Clarification offered Monday detailed that the fence would include two gates to allow for the entry of dogs and people, the fence would be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the park benches would be outside of the fence and there would be room for golf cart parking between the fence and the multi-modal path.
PWAC members also considered putting in parking places for the golf carts and skipping the fence. It was believed the parking could preserve the turf. The Amenity Authority Committee spent $12,000 for 14 parking spaces at another ad hoc dog park near a retention pond behind The Villages Regional Hospital. The AAC’s effort to keep the golf carts off the grass there has been successful.
PWAC member Chuck Wildzunas said putting in parking spaces would be a great irony.
“The complaint was about dogs. If we put in parking spaces and encouraged dog activity, it would be in direct opposition to what the homeowner originally wanted,” he said.
PWAC member Jerry Vicenti suggested the committee had lost its direction.
“The original complaint was about the dogs and the noise. This fence isn’t going to solve it,” Vicenti said.
He added that the board of supervisors in Community Development District 10, where the property is located, could go ahead and put up the fence at their own expense.
The board ultimately voted to rescind the original action for the fence. The vote was 5-1 with the lone vote in opposition coming from PWAC member Don Wiley, chairman of Community Development District 10, who originally raised the issue on behalf of resident Marvin Rosser.
