Washougal dog park in works, could open before autumn

WASHOUGAL — Camas-Washougal dog owners could soon enjoy Clark County’s fourth off-leash dog park, thanks to a pending land deal.

At a bargain rate of $1 per month, the city of Washougal would lease about 7 acres just west of the Bi-Mart store, between Main and Addy streets near 32nd Street.

The city council is expected to sign a long-term, temporary lease agreement with landowner D.M. Stevenson Ranch of Hood River, Ore., when it meets Monday.

Construction could begin within days, and finish by late summer or early autumn. The park would be named for benefactors Donald and Angeline Stevenson.

"I think it’s going to be awesome for the community, said Suzanne Bachelder, Washougal parks manager. "I get calls all the time: ‘We have nothing on this side of the county,’" she said at a recent council briefing.

The council meets at 7 p.m. Monday in City Hall, 1701 C St.

The city would spend about $30,000 already dedicated to a new dog park to clear the thick blackberry patch on the parcel, and to purchase supplies for fencing, waste containers and an information kiosk.

Early plans call for a one-acre penned yard for "small or shy dogs" within the larger fenced perimeter.

Volunteer members of Dog Owners Group for Park Access in Washington would provide free labor during construction, then take the lead maintaining the park.

Bachelder and City Administrator Nabiel Shawa said the Stevenson property, which borders no private homes and would have ample parking in a corner of the Bi-Mart parking lot, suits most needs.

The lease agreement would run year-to-year and could be terminated by either party at any time, Bachelder said.

The owner does not anticipate any development of the property within five years — a lull the city expects might stretch closer to 10 years, she said.

Other potential off-leash sites near Captain William Clark Park and in Washougal’s uplands have been ruled out, Shawa said. At the former, there were fears that dogs would affect nearby wetlands and animals inside the Steigerwald National Wildlife Refuge, he said.

A park in Washougal’s hills might be handy for its neighbors but not to others, he said.

Bachelder predicts the Stevenson land, close to state Highway 14, will draw many east county users and pump up commerce in Washougal.

Mark Heiny, DOGPAW construction manager, steered the building of Clark County’s newest off-leash park last year in Brush Prairie, on Northeast 149th Street.

On weekends, dog owners log as many as 70 visits per hour at Clark’s dog parks (the other two are at the Bonneville Power Administration’s Ross complex in Minnehaha, and at Pacific Park in east Vancouver), Heiny said.

The Stevenson property fits nicely with DOGPAW’s vision to complete six to eight off-leash parks in Clark County, he said.

"Washougal is a perfect location for us," Heiny said.

Howard Buck: 360-735-4515 or howard.buck@columbian.com.