| | Published June 20th, 2012
| Dog Days are Back Petition stops suspension of off-leash hours at Rancho Laguna Park
| | By Sophie Braccini | | |
Dogs will continue to romp freely, during scheduled hours, at Rancho Laguna Park. A petition bearing 1,800 signatures- roughly 18 percent of Moraga's registered voters- asking that the park's off-leash hours not be suspended was delivered to the Town of Moraga June 6.
On May 9 the Moraga Town Council passed an ordinance suspending off-leash hours at Rancho Laguna Park, until and unless a fenced dog area is constructed. The ordinance was set to take effect June 9.
Under the California Election Code section 9235-9247 (www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html), if a petition signed by a minimum of 10 percent of registered voters is filed against an ordinance within 30 days of its approval the ordinance is automatically suspended and the Council must decide whether to repeal the ordinance or put it to a popular vote.
Town Clerk Marty McInturf said that once the signatures were counted by the Town, the application of the ordinance was suspended and signage at the park indicating off-leash hours would end was immediately removed.
The petition was sent to the County for signature verification June 8. "The County can take up to 30 business days to verify the signatures," said McInturf.
A group of about 100 volunteers went door-to-door to gather enough signatures to stop the implementation of the ordinance. "It took us less than two weeks to gather enough signatures," said Tina Briar.
The suspension of the ordinance is another chapter in the multi-year saga of the Town's attempts to implement the physical separation of dogs from other park users at Rancho Laguna Park. After the signatures have been verified by the County, the Council must reconsider the ordinance. There are only two actions it can take: repeal its own ordinance, leaving off-leash hours in place; or go to the ballot and ask voters to decide the issue.
The deadline for a referendum to be included on the November ballot is in July, so it is unlikely that the question could be posed to Moraga voters before 2013.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA