Willow Glen Resident

News

Dog park project has tails wagging

By Stephen Baxter

Heeling to the needs of dog owners, the San Jose City Council on Aug. 14 unanimously approved a dog run and public restrooms for a future city park near Auzerais Avenue and the Los Gatos Creek.

Several residents at the council meeting spoke in favor of the dog area and bathrooms, saying that many parks lack facilities.

The 2.2-acre park will be constructed after KB Home finishes building 383 townhomes and condominiums on Auzerais. Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio, whose district covers Willow Glen, Rose Garden and parts of Cambrian, asked for the changes in part to fulfill a campaign promise. Seventy percent of residents in his district own dogs, he said, and the city's staff is working to expand the park to 4 acres.

Other nearby parks such as O'Connor and Cahill were built without public bathrooms because some homeowners near the parks balked at building public facilities.

"We have to make a statement that parks are for all people, not just some," Oliverio said at the meeting.

Residents applauded the effort, including Ken Henning, vice president of the Burbank/Del Monte Neighborhood Advisory Committee. "There's a lot of people being shoehorned in our area, and they have animals," Henning said.