Oakland City Council to Vote — Again — on Lake Merritt Dog Park Plan

The Oakland City Council on Tuesday will take its second vote on a controversial plan for a dog play area at Astro Park, at the corner of Lakeshore Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard.

The proposal has pitted neighbors against one another, with large and passionate groups of area residents on both sides. Proponents of the park argue that there's currently no place nearby where dog owners can allow their pets to run off-leash. Opponents say that the dog park would diminish an eye-pleasing area of green lawns and that it would interfere with ue of the space for children's play and sports activities. 

After a lengthy public hearing on Dec. 4, the council voted 4-3 to overturn the planning commission's earlir denial of the dog park. However, according to City Attorney Barbara Parker, that requires five council members — a majority of the full eight-member council, not just those in attendance at the meeting — to agree. Councilmember Jane Brunner was absent from that meeting.

If the council cannot muster five votes either for or agaisnt the dog park, Mayor Jean Quan Jean Quan will cast the deciding vote.

Both Safeway and the dog park are on the agenda for the council's evening session, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

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