- October 11, 2024
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Volusia County will be letting the dogs out — on the beach, that is.
The County Council approved an 18-month pilot program allowing dogs on the beach from Milsap Road to Rockefeller Drive in Ormond Beach in a 6-1 vote at its meeting on Tuesday, July 11. County Councilman Don Dempsey, concerned about how dogs could impact beachfront property owners in that area, voted no.
Volusia has prohibited dogs on the majority of the beach since it took over beach regulation in 1987. Before the pilot program, dogs were only allowed on two beach parks: Smyrna Dunes Park, in New Smyrna Beach; and Lighthouse Point Park, in Ponce Inlet.
County Councilman Troy Kent proposed the pilot program. Adding a dog-friendly beach area in all seaside communities was one of his campaign goals, and the pilot program in Ormond Beach, which Kent represents, is a start.
At the council meeting, Kent said he was humbled by the support voiced by the community, and the fact that three council members who originally planned to vote against the program switched their stances.
"We are going to make history in Volusia County," Kent said. "... I am absolutely blown away. This is my favorite type of partnership, which is a public/private partnership, where you, the public, have said you will help and assist to make this wildly successful."
The approval of the pilot program comes after two recent attempts County Council attempts to allow dogs on the beach — one in 2021 and another in 2014 — were voted down.
Beginning Nov. 1, dogs will be permitted on the 0.6-mile stretch of beach in Ormond from sunrise to sunset.
Dogs must be on a 6-foot leash, and owners should pick up any dog waste and must be able to provide proof of rabies vaccination. Violators face a fine from $150 to $250.
When the council discussed the pilot program in March, officials were concerned that the program could put the county's beach driving permit in peril, because the original proposed pilot program location in front of Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park was within a natural beach management area.
On April 24, Deputy County Manager Suzanne Konchan said staff received confirmation from U.S. Fish and Wildlife that the new location in Ormond Beach would not affect or require an amendment to the permit or the county's habitat conservation plan.
To address dog waste, the county will install 26 dog waste bag dispensers, placing them at each beach ramp and all trash and recycling bin stands.
The installation is expected to cost $2,574, with an annual cost of $6,000 for the bags.
Local nonprofit Daytona Dog Beach Inc. has committed to covering those costs.
Nanette McKeel Petrella, president of Daytona Dog Beach Inc., said that ever since the previous council turned down a dog-friendly beach proposal in 2021, her organization has prepared for another try by listening to the community and raising money.
"Our organization, community leaders and the community at large have come together in a positive, enthusiastic and collaborative way to get us to a 'yes,'" Petrella said. "Allowing for a dog-friendly beach will bring us together and make us a better community."
The county will hire one animal control officer to monitor the area 10 hours a day for four days a week. That position will cost $96,500, including startup costs like equipment.
Ormond Beach philanthropists Nancy and Lowell Lohman donated $100,000 to the county to offset the cost of hiring the new animal control officer.
Nancy Lohman said barring dogs from the beach affects the county's economic impact. More than 50 hotels and 20 restaurants on the beachside advertise themselves as being dog-friendly, she said, yet the beach is not.
"One of the things that makes a big difference for people is that they're not going to go to a public place without their dogs. I'm not going to the beach because I can't bring Snowball and Snowflake," Lohman said, referencing her dogs. "... 47 miles of beach, and all we ask is for a small section."
Four people spoke against the pilot program. One was Laura Rutledge, who has lived on a beachfront home in the pilot program's boundary for 34 years.
She told the council she felt like David going up against Goliath speaking against the program. She said many people did not show up to the council meeting because they heard of the FWS decision communicated to the council in April.
She urged the council not to allow dogs on the beach in front of her home, calling it a lawsuit waiting to happen.
"In 34 years of living on that beach ... never once have I ever seen somebody pick up after their dog," she said. "Not one time, in 34 years. I have seen them [the dogs] take after birds, take after children, take after other dogs. I've seen them take after people. I've seen them take after everything you can possibly imagine."
Ormond Beach resident Judith Stein, a unit owner of a nearby condo-hotel, also asked the council to reject the pilot program proposal.
"If dogs are allowed on the beach in front of our buildings, we believe our rental and property values and potential will be adversely affected," Stein said. "Turning this stretch of the beach into a dog bathroom assures that families will not want to lay their blankets down, and if you walk there, you'll be walking through dog urine."
Dempsey said he opposed the pilot program because Flagler County beaches are dog-friendly and are not that far of a drive for residents in the northeast of the county.
"Maybe there's people who have come down to Volusia, like the Rutledges, who don't want dogs in their backyard," Dempsey said. "And you're just imposing your desires on the people who maybe bought beachfront property where dogs are not allowed."
County Council Chair Jeff Brower — the only council member who supported opening the beach to dogs in 2021 — said that for him, the matter wasn't an "emotional one," but had to do with personal liberty.
"I worked on the beach for 10 years," he said. "... Since that time, there's more things that you can't do, than you can do. We've taken a lot of the fun out of the beach, because we're concerned about safety."
The pilot program is a responsible approach to introducing dogs on the beach, he said.
If problems arise, the county can add more restrictions.
Councilman Danny Robins said his primary concerns were potential environmental problems and impacts to the county's beach driving permit. Both concerns have been addressed, he said. Dog beach parks in the southeast are congested, he added, and the pilot program may help relieve the overcrowding.
"I'm in support trial period where we can track our expenses," he said. "I'm in support [of] tracking any complaints or enforcement taken that way we can kind of read and feed on how we go forward in the future."
