UPDATE: Clayton Dog Park? Haddington Court Site Explored

A dog park proposed for 's Haddington Court could be ready by mid-year City Manager Craig Owens said Monday.

"This type of use is common for flood plain areas," Owens said. The site, just under two acres in size, is located off of Clayton Road and west of Brentwood Boulevard. A ended late last year and happened because of serious periodic flooding in the neighborhood.

The park would have to be designed to account for the flow of water in the area, Owens said. Other common uses of buyout land like that at Haddington Court include athletic fields and parks with trails and benches.

Clayton recently a letter to the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency asking whether it would be acceptable to locate a dog park at Haddington Court, he said.

While discussion about funding for the park is ongoing, citizen supporters of such a facility "have always said they would bring those funds forward," Owens said.

Clayton mayor discusses dog park proposal
Mayor Linda Goldstein said she thinks the site is much more suitable than , which . The Clayton Board of Aldermen of residents about the issue. Several respondents suggested the city look at Haddington Court.

"We're not going to do a survey about whether people like Haddington Court more than Shaw, but in retrospect we just didn't know that Haddington would be available," Goldstein said. The survey was a good idea because it allowed the city to know how people feel about the idea of a dog facility in Shaw Park.

The Haddington Court location would be a dedicated site bigger than the one proposed at Shaw Park site, she said. And it wouldn't use existing park land.

Goldstein said that she requested Owens ask specifically about the Haddington Court option and that the response was encouraging.

"While there's still a lot of procedures and forms and processes that we have to go through, it sounds like the answer wasn't no," she said. Goldstein noted that community members indicated support for a dog park—assuming the city had additional land and didn't infringe on existing parks—in a parks master plan several years ago.

Multiple steps remain
To move forward with the project, the city must receive permission from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other government agencies, a news release from the city states. It would also need additional analysis by the parks department and the Board of Aldermen.

A question-and-answer page on FEMA's website outlines some of the requirements for such land.

"By law, that property, which is now public property, must forever remain open space land," the website states. "The community can use it to create public parks, wildlife refuges, etc. but it cannot sell it to private individuals nor develop it."

Haddington Court marks at least the third location to be suggested for a Clayton dog park. A fell flat when neighbors expressed opposition.

In a mid-December interview, parks and recreation director Patty DeForrest said the Clayton Parks and Recreation Commission would advise the Board of Aldermen in January about whether to pursue a Shaw Park facility.

Under the Haddington Court proposal, dog owners who want to use the park would buy membership to offset maintenance costs, the city's release states. Owners would be required to follow several guidelines, including providing proof that their pets are up to date on shots.