Beach dog compromise in works for Manchester

MANCHESTER — Dog owners and beachgoers may be facing some new rules next year through a compromise aimed at resolving who gets to use Singing Beach — and when.

The town's Singing Beach Committee has recommended that the beach be segregated during the months of April and October — with some space set aside for visitors to enjoy the beach pet free, while much of it would still be open for people to bring their canines.

Committee members told the town's selectmen last week that there are a number of temperate days in the months of October and April when people would like to visit the beach without dealing with dogs and their calling cards. Presently, dogs are not allowed on Singing Beach between May 1 and Sept. 30, but are permitted on the beach between October and April. If ultimately approved at Town Meeting next spring, according to the newest proposal, one quarter of the beach would be reserved for beachgoers.

Singing Beach Committee Chairman Bob Coyne said the segregated section would be located on the left-hand side of the beach by the rotary, and the boundary would be delineated by signs.

To keep dogs from trespassing, Coyne said the dog's owners would have to police their animals by making sure their dogs could be controlled by voice command or a leash.

As part of the committee's goal to fine-tune the decision made at this past April's Town Meeting — which upheld dog owners' ability to bring their dogs to the beach during the off-season — the committee also proposed more stringent and active enforcement measures. That means proposed fines for violations of dog regulations are more than doubled in some cases. For a first offense, the committee proposed that the fine be raised from $10 to $25. For a second offense the fee would jump from $25 to $50, while the fine for a third offense would jump from $50 to $100.

As an additional enforcement measure, committee member Olga Hayes suggested that a group of volunteer citizens be organized to police the beach. The citizen dog posse would not be able to issue citations, said Hayes, but volunteers would be identifiable by hats and, if the Police Department approves, they may be able to issue warnings and report the license plates of offenders to the police. At the very least, said Hayes, "we can remind the people about the laws."

To further crack down on dog law violations, Coyne said he wants the dog officer, Robert Steach, to patrol the beach at least once a week in the hope that increased visibility of enforcement would discourage offenses. According to the Manchester Police Department, Steach does not have a regular beat and only responds to dog incidents as reports come in.

The committee's suggestion are still in the early stages. Ultimately, the proposal will need to be voted on at Town Meeting before it can be approved. Before that happens, the committee needs to settle on the details, fine-tune the wording with a town attorney, and then get at least 10 signatures to place the plan on the town warrant.

Cathie Glass, a lifelong Manchester resident, seemed supportive of the Singing Beach Committee's idea to segregate the beach as she was walking Ozzie, her English bulldog, down Union Street on Friday.

She does not have any problem with people walking their dogs on the beach as long as they pick up after the animals. However, she suggested the season in which dogs are allowed could be shorter, so there could be more time for the beach to clean itself before the summer crowds arrived.

Maria Burgess, on the other hand, thinks the proposal is a bad idea and that the regulations are fine as they are.

"You know what?" she said while cradling Homer, her miniature poodle who had just been trimmed, "I think they're making a mountain of a mole hill." She added that she believed the proposal was being pushed by the people who wanted to see dogs banned from the beach entirely.

Coyne said Friday that one of the reasons the recommendation was made to the selectmen was to appease the people trying to close off the beach to dogs.

"I think the current rules are fine as long as people pick up after themselves," Burgess said. "If that's all there is to worry about in this town, we're living a pretty good life."

Photos

Marcia Strouss of Essex places a game of fetch with her three dogs, from left, Mac, Scotch and Brewster while at Singing Beach on Thursday afternoon. Several residents in Manchester are looking to have dog walking banned from Singing Beach. "We come here about once a week," Strouss said, "and the dogs always have a fun time." File photo