Dogs now required to be on leashes at Eagle Ranch Golf Course
Walt Marquez/Special to the Daily
The Eagle Town Council on Tuesday voted unanimously in favor of amending the town code to require leashes for all dogs on the town’s golf course at Eagle Ranch.
The town recently acknowledged confusion regarding definitions in its municipal code, which previously exempted from the leash requirement any owners, lessees or persons with express permission to use the property with their dog.
“The current code implies that while on the golf course, dogs must be on a leash while on ‘pathways’ and only under ‘demonstrable control’ in grassy areas,” wrote Carrie Buhlman, the town’s interim police chief, in a memo to the town council. “This has led to inconsistencies in enforcement and confusion among community members.”
The town code, on Tuesday, was amended to revise the definition of “common ground” to clearly state that the golf course is not a common place and, therefore, is an enforceable area where dogs must always be under leash control. The definition of “premises” was also revised, with the phrase “expressly permitted” removed.
“This will refine and restrict the definition to allow only owners and lessees of property to have no control requirements on those properties,” Buhlman wrote. “This means that even if permission is given to use the property for people’s pets, it will not prevent the town from enforcing the leash requirement on that property. These amendments aim to provide clear guidelines for staff and the public regarding the control of dogs on the golf course and other areas covered by our municipal code.”
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The issue came up in January after Nathan Lehnert, Eagle County field service manager for animal control, raised the question as to whether or not dogs were allowed to venture off leash on the golf course.
Lehnert said the presence of humans and their pets has affected the number of wintering elk on the course, which once used the area in large numbers but have recently dwindled into smaller groups scattered throughout town.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Lehnert said the revisions were a good start, but there are other definitions in the town code that may need to be addressed in the future, as well.
“There are other properties that will be common ground including pocket parks, so those right now will be outside of our authority to enforce a leash requirement,” Lehnert said. “Those are things we’re definitely willing to look at and see if we can help clarify those.”
Mayor Scott Turnipseed said he had spent a considerable amount of time in recent weeks working on the issue of off-leash dogs at the golf course.
“It’s been a big deal,” Turnipseed said. “I’d like to get it behind us if we could.”
Lehnert said Tuesday’s revisions will create an opportunity make more adjustments to the town code, “really identifying what the intention is so we can make that really clear for the community and clear for the officers for enforcement.”
