• First meeting of Matheson Hammock Park was in 2008 where the homeowners of the neighborhood (School House Road and SW 92nd Street), which is around the park, were adamant and unreasonable regarding closing the park to dog owners
• The resolution of that meeting was that they found a compromise to allow dog owners to park in front of their homes (so they built a guard gate which checks if there’s a dog in the car to allow you to go through and park in that road)
• More recently, another meeting on the park was held on August 13, 2015

Issue #1

• The current plan is to undo what was agreed to in 2008 (allowing people to park in that road)
• The homeowners want to privatize School House Rd., which means that non-residents are not allowed to enter the neighborhood to park.
• Apparently, the Parks Department is taking the side of the homeowners and assisting them in closing the entrance to School House Rd. & SW 92nd Street
• The dog walkers will now have to park in the lot in Old Cutler Road, which is a main road with heavy traffic

Issues in this road include:

• Lighting for pedestrians wanting to cross to go to the park;
• Security for vandalism in vehicles;
• Lighting/Security for people walking the trail (it’s currently dark & unsafe)
• Traffic congestion;
• Path to walk to the area ADA (disability) compliant?
• Is the parking from that road too far for handicapped dogs to get in and out of the designated park area
• The area the dog walkers will be walking through is a designated bird watching nature path

Issue #2

• The Parks Department wants to create a 3 ½ acre fenced-in runway for dogs ( The park is about 90+ acres (so they are only giving a tiny piece for the dogs to run))
• The consultants who provided the recommendation are not familiar with the needs of park-users and provided the recommendation based on the demands on the Neighbors (the people that live in that road)
• Dogs need exercise, so off-leash running allows the dogs to run around the park with fellow dogs (convenient especially for elder owners or handicapped owners)

The Park Department’s Goal for the Park

• Provide the community with a plan that preserves and protects historic and natural resources of the park, improves overall accessibility, anticipates sea level rise and on the west side, allows for dogs to roam freely within the fenced area and on a leash in the rest of the west side of the park.