Publication select ▼
SOUTHFIELD — The City Council unanimously approved a special land use and site plan review request July 15 from the Southfield Parks and Recreation Department to improve Lahser Woods Park by adding a dog park, paths and other enhancements.
During the public hearing, residents approached the council members, sharing their support of the project, which will be at the park located at 27577 Lahser Road.
“We have a great Parks and Recreation Department,” longtime Southfield resident Pamela Gerald said. “I wasn’t sure when Miss Terry Fields first came, because you get to the point where you become a creature of habit, and you like the people that are put in place. And after watching what she’s done since she’s been here, I’m just in total support of the things that they’re attempting to do. That area needs a little bit of TLC.”
A Beacon Square Homeowners Association representative, Tony Martin, also spoke at the public hearing.
“For a long time, former council person and former Mayor Brenda Lawrence has asked for a dog park in the city of Southfield. We’re finally doing what Brenda wanted. Thank you very much. Right now, we’re just doing the dog park. We’re looking at future development of the park down the road, but we’re happy to have a dog park at Lahser Woods.”
The 3-acre dog park will include 1.5 acres for small dogs and 1.5 acres for larger dogs, with a 33-car gravel parking lot, including five paved Americans with Disabilities Act parking spots, which was updated from three to five after Southfield Mayor Ken Siver expressed the need for more accessible spaces at the last council meeting.
Fields, the director of the Southfield Parks and Recreation Department, thanked the council members for their feedback.
“We’re feeling really good about all the work that’s been done, the support that you’ve given going forward, and the questions that you’ve asked, because it makes us tweak our game as we move,” Fields said. “So, thank you.”
Fields said that another one of the adjustments that’s been made to the plan includes changing from the planned 4-foot-high fence around the dog park to a 5-foot-high fence to ensure that dogs don’t jump the fence.
The Lahser Woods dog park will include a fenced-in area with a key fob system. People will register by submitting vaccination information and their dog license, and they will be required to watch a training orientation on dog park conduct to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
“We’re going to be a team,” Fields said. “If the clerk’s office is doing a license, or animal control or the Police Department, we really want to make sure that everybody’s on the same page, because there’s going to be a learning curve as we go forward.”
Phase one of the project is estimated to cost around $493,000 and is set to begin in August or September, with a finish date of spring 2025. This phase will start with 1,700 feet of pathway in the dog park, along with some benches and bollards to light the path for safety during the evenings, bike racks, the leveling of the berm and some tree removals. Phase two, if approved, may include shade structures and some adult fitness equipment.
City Administer Fred Zorn explained that the goal is to complete the new pathway, which will be located off Stevenson Elementary School and will run through the park, neighboring the Young Israel of Southfield Synagogue. Zorn said that the goal is to accelerate the path design to be completed either by the first or middle of September, before Rosh Hashanah, which is Oct. 2-4.
“We pride ourselves in being a diverse community with different religions,” he said. “We’re trying to accommodate those who walk to the synagogue on their sabbath.”
Councilwoman Coretta Houge addressed the use of money toward the dog park versus helping residents with recovery from recent storms.
“I just wanted to share with our residents that this was possible because of grants that we got, and so we’re leveraging money that we received that has to go to a project like this, so I just wanted to make sure that that’s out there so that our residents don’t think we’re insensitive to their challenges. But this was earmarked by a grant that has to be used in this fashion, so I just want to say that, and thank you (Fields) for all your work toward this,”
Fields noted that the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Department contributed $100,000 toward the development.
For more information on the Lahser Woods dog park, call (248) 796-4620 or visit www.cityofsouthfield.com.
You May Also Be Interested In
