Salt Lake County is hosting several open houses to gather public feedback on six candidate sites for regional off-leash dog parks.
Beginning Tuesday in Kearns, this is the first round of public meetings since Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation narrowed a lengthy list of potential sites to six prime prospects.
Public input will figure into the final selection of two or three off-leash areas of 5-10 acres each, with development expected within the next couple of years.
The six finalist candidates are Cougar Park, West Jordan; Granite Park, Sandy; 6000 W. Herriman Park, Herriman; Lodestone Regional Park, West Valley City; Wardle Fields, Bluffdale; and Welby Regional Park, South Jordan.
“We knew going in that there was a need for these kind of facilities in the southwestern part of the valley, especially. There was a pretty clear need out there,” said Clayton Scrivner, Parks and Recreation spokesman.
Salt Lake City lists seven existing off-leash parks within its boundaries, while Taylorsville, West Jordan, Sandy and Draper each has such a park. The county also has an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service to allow dogs off-leash in Mill Creek Canyon on odd-numbered days on canyon trails.
The public open-house schedule for potential new county off-leash parks is:
• Tuesday, Feb. 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Kearns Recreation Center, 5670 Cougar Lane<br>• Wednesday, Feb. 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Salt Lake County Government Center South Building Lobby, 2001 S. State St.<br>• Monday, Feb. 12, 5:30-7:30 p.m., J.L. Sorenson Recreation Center, 5350 W. 12600 South, Herriman<br>• Thursday, Feb. 15, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Dimple Dell Recreation Center, 10670 S. 1000 East, Sandy.