Carlsbad resident looking to establish new dog beach

Still in its infancy, one resident is creating a grassroots effort to create a new dog beach in the city.

Currently, the closest area for dogs to roam the coastline is at Dog Beach in Del Mar. In Carlsbad, many residents let their dogs loose at Terramar, which is illegal and residents can be cited with minor fines.

But Dan Pearlman, 58, started a petition on MoveOn.org several weeks ago and it has received traction thanks to social media and dog lovers. As of July 2, 897 people had signed.

An owner of two dogs, he said it would be a benefit to the city, residents and, of course, dogs.

“I’m a dog lover and we really love taking our dogs to the beach,” Pearlman said. “The problem is the closest area is in Del Mar.”

Of course, one hurdle is the location, which Pearlman said he is open for discussion about. The city only owns one mile of the seven along the coastline. The State of California owns the other six miles.

Multiple messages were left with Carlsbad Parks and Recreation Director Chris Hazeltine, but were not returned.

Pearlman said allowing dogs would help with keeping the area clean, as “responsible” dog owners will clean up after their animals, thus putting pressure on others who do not. For example, the dog beach would give dog owners an area on the beach to take their dogs, thus reducing or eliminating the amount of waste left in other beach locations.

Pearlman also contacted Councilwoman Cori Schumacher about the next steps and was suggested to contact the City Council and city staff through letters.

With dogs comes management and waste, which Pearlman said he is open to solutions.

“There is a solution for almost any problem,” he added. “I think we can do it. I think it’s just going to take some work and some planning. And that’s what I intend to do.”

Moving forward, he said he wants to start engaging residents through meetings and gathering 10,000 signatures on the petition, and also submitting letters in support.

Additionally, Pearlman said he wants to also engage with the state about possible locations and clearing regulatory hurdles.

“We don’t have an area in mind,” he said. “What I would like is an area where not so many tourists frequent and not so many residents use a lot. We still need to analyze that.”