Baron Cameron Park’s off-leash dog area remains without noise-reducing fencing more than a month after a storm damaged the fencing material.
The sheeting, aimed at reducing noise from the dog park, was put in place more than a year ago. Park officials said last month the fencing material, which was attached to the metal chain link fencing, is being repaired and will be replaced.
But the timing of the barrier damage and removal could not have been worse as the park and Reston Dogs Inc., the group that operates the dog park, are responding to neighbors who filed a lawsuit in early March complaining about the noise.
The residents live in Reston’s Longwood Grove neighborhood, located across Wiehle Avenue from the dog run. The dog park, which is open during daylight hours, is the only off-leash dog run in Reston.
“The dog park noise, mainly from unruly dogs barking and fighting, has grown to intolerable levels over the last two years and is likely to become even more severe in the spring and summer months,” says the court document. “On its worst days, the noise is incessant. The nuisance noise at the dog park disrupts the Longwood Grove Plaintiffs’ reasonable use and enjoyment of their properties.”
There are 100 homes in the Longwood Grove subdivision, but the complaint was brought by seven individuals representing five households.
The injunction cites several previous Virginia rulings dealing with the definition of a nuisance. It claims the plaintiffs are likely to suffer “irreparable harm from the dogs barking and fighting in the dog park in the summer of 2014 as this case proceeds” and have no legal remedy other to quiet the noise other than to ask for an injunction to shut down the park.
The injunction says that several of the plaintiffs suffer from lack of sleep and extreme stress.
Baron Cameron is about to embark on changes in a new master plan process. There are two visions for the improved park, both of which include a dog park. However, one of the plans includes moving the dog area farther into the 68-acre park’s interior in order to make way for a large indoor pool and recreation center and additional parking.
At a March 27 community meeting on the Baron Cameron Master Plan, many dog park users spoke in support of keeping the dog park at its current location.
“We would like to see the dog park remain in its current position and retain the same character,” said Tom Krassalt, president of Reston Dogs. “One of our concerns is that if the population of Reston is going to double [with upcoming development] then it would mean the dog population would double and a larger park should be considered.”
However, other citizens made the suggestion that the dog park be moved to Lake Fairfax Park, which has more open space and is farther away from homes.
Wednesday’s Reston Now article about a group of North Reston residents asking the Fairfax County Park Authority to shut down the Baron Cameron Park off-leash dog area generated a record number of page views and comments, as well as lively social media reaction.
Last week, a group of residents of Longwood Grove, the subdivision situated across Wiehle Avenue from the dog park, filed an injunction in Fairfax County Circuit Court asking that the park be immediately closed. The residents, who represent five of the 100 households in the neighborhood, say the dog barking is a nuisance that is affecting their quality of life.
It claims the plaintiffs are likely to suffer “irreparable harm from the dogs barking and fighting in the dog park in the summer of 2014 as this case proceeds” and have no legal remedy other to quiet the noise other than to ask for an injunction to shut down the park.
Most people who commented and engaged on Reston Now’s Facebook page say the injunction is not warranted.
“Wiehle in and of itself is loud and busy, as is Baron Cameron, so why not just shut them both down as well as the entire Baron Cameron Park since I can hear kids and parents yelling and whistles blowing? Who are these people anyway? They should really consider packing up and moving out of a metropolitan area so someplace like the Montana wilderness,” said Facebook commenter Robbie Nolan.
Said Deloris Bailey: “This park is used by so many dog owners and is a benefit to the ENTIRE community … how can 5 families shut it down? Also, if you wanted peace, why buy a house off of Wiehle? It will still be extremely noisy. When I was a kid, we moved to a neighborhood off of a major intersection. At first the noise kept me up, but eventually I got used to it. When I went away to college, the quiet campus kept me up, for awhile.
Also, the article said that the new Master Plan recommends moving the dog park into an interior section of the park … this should work. … And they should make it bigger.”
Here is a sampling of what others had to say:
* Ok, how do we protest. Sign me up! This is ridiculous. Sure, there are doggy-noises, but the dog park is not close enough to houses to warrant noise complaints. I’m seriously appalled by this. Some people just have to find something to complain about!!! Read More
A group of residents of Reston’s Longwood Grove neighborhood has filed an injunction to shut down Baron Cameron Park’s Dog Park.
The dog park, which is open during daylight hours, is the only off-leash dog run in Reston. The neighbors filed the preliminary injunction last week in Fairfax County Circuit Court, saying the park “constitutes a private nuisance.”
“The dog park noise, mainly from unruly dogs barking and fighting, has grown to intolerable levels over the last two years and is likely to become even more severe in the spring and summer months,” says the court document.
The neighbors — named in the injunction as Moira Callaghan, Carrie Sawicki, Robert Sawicki, David Okerson, Barbara Okerson, Judith Strother and Kris Capps — say the noise begins at 5:30 a.m. and continues through the day and evening.
“On its worst days, the noise is incessant,” the document states. “The nuisance noise at the dog park disrupts the Longwood Grove Plaintiffs’ reasonable use and enjoyment of their properties.”
There are 100 homes in the Longwood Grove subdivision, but the complaint was brought by seven individuals representing five households. A member of the plaintiff group declined to be interviewed for this article, as did Zachary Williams, the plaintiffs’ attorney.
In the complaint, it states that the Longwood Grove homes are 300-400 feet from the dog park. However, Wiehle Avenue, a busy, four-lane main road, along with a buffer of trees and a noise-reducing fence, separate the homes from the park.
Baron Cameron Park is owned by the Fairfax County Park Authority, which is named in the injunction.
Fairfax County Park Authority Board Chair Bill Bouie says the county has listened to the affected residents and installed the noise-reducing fencing. He also said the county has done its own tests and found no measurable noise coming from the park.
“The traffic noise on Wiehle is louder than the dog noise,” said Bouie.
The recent Reston Master Plan revision says that an average of 41,000 cars travel through the intersection of Wiehle Avenue and Baron Cameron daily.
Also named in the injunction is Reston Dogs, a volunteer organization that organizes and operates the dog park.
“We obviously don’t agree with the facts as stated from the five families bringing the case, however, we take all of our neighbors perceptions about noise seriously,” said Tom Krasselt, a representative of Reston Dogs. He says that dog park users are respectful of one another and are quick to remove their pets if the barking gets out of control.
Krasselt says the dog park has been in Baron Cameron Park since 1991, a few years before the Longwood Grove homes were built.
The injunction cites several previous Virginia rulings dealing with the definition of a nuisance. It claims the plaintiffs are likely to suffer “irreparable harm from the dogs barking and fighting in the dog park in the summer of 2014 as this case proceeds” and have no legal remedy other to quiet the noise other than to ask for an injunction to shut down the park.
The injunction says that several of the plaintiffs suffer from lack of sleep and extreme stress.
Baron Cameron is about to embark on changes in a new master plan process. There are two visions for the improved park, both of which include a dog park. However, one of the plans includes moving the dog area farther into the 68-acre park’s interior in order to make way for a large indoor pool and recreation center and additional parking.
There will be a public meeting on the Baron Cameron Park Master Plan process on March 27 at 7 p.m. at Buzz Aldrin Elementary School.
