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SALT LAKE CITY -- Mayor Ralph Becker plans to use his power of veto for the first time to keep dogs out of environmentally sensitive areas of Parleys Historic Nature Park.
On Tuesday night, the City Council approved a management plan that would allow dogs to remain off-leash throughout the 63-acre park, while limiting access within 50 feet of Parleys Creek.
But the council's action allows dogs on the south side of the park, a designated protection area that Becker and a minority of the City Council want to prohibit dogs from accessing.
The mayor plans to veto (the plan), specifically because the south side would not be provided the necessary protections.
–Lisa Harrison Smith
"The mayor plans to veto (the plan), specifically because the south side would not be provided the necessary protections," said Lisa Harrison Smith, the mayor's spokeswoman.
The City Council approved the ordinance by a 4-3 vote, leaving the door open for the mayor to veto the action. The ordinance is expected to reach Becker's desk later this week, at which point the mayor will veto it, Harrison Smith said.
The City Council will have an opportunity to override the veto when it next meets in January, though it would need five votes to do so.
If the council fails to override the veto, the revised plan presented to the City Council on Tuesday would go into effect. That plan allows for more off-leash dog area than was first proposed in May, but it would keep dogs out of the park's south side and limit their access to Parleys Creek to two points.
On Tuesday night, Becker said the council's decision to allow dogs on the south side of the park "causes me great concern, both from an environmental standpoint and from a user standpoint."
The mayor's office is particularly concerned about recent water-quality readings at Parleys Creek that indicate fecal contamination "is a significant problem that should not be overlooked," according to a letter from the Salt Lake County Health Department.
E-mail: jpage@desnews.com
