As of 2009, approximately 39% of U.S. households owned at least one dog. Today, off-leash dog parks are the fastest-growing type of park in the country. At these facilities, which range widely in amenities, dogs are allowed off their leashes to play and interact, while owners also get the chance to exercise and build social capital. In tandem with this trend, Apache Junction has developed three plans for an off-leash dog park in the city since 2008.
Apache Junction’s first off-leash dog plan was to be the fourth phase of Prospector Park, which is located on the north side of the city and has facilities including multi-use fields, restrooms, and playgrounds. Construction drawings were even made and approved in 2009 for this more than 5-acre extension. The second plan was created at the same time as part of a master plan for Silly Mountain Park, which is located in the southeast part of the city off U.S. 60 and includes a multi-use trail and botanical garden. The approximately 4.5-acre dog park portion of the facility was introduced as a result of public interest during hearings about plans for the greater park. However, these first two off-leash dog park plans came with price tags of at least $3 million. Since both were unveiled in the midst of the Great Recession, a lack of funding halted their forward movement. The third conceptual plan, which was generated in 2015, was to be located on 1.5 acres of county property near CityHall. The cost to build it was much more modest, estimated to be nearly$650,000, but it never received an official decision and therefore was not presented to the city council.
For more than a decade, public support for an off-leash dog park in the city does not appear to have waned. However, the high costs of the two original plans are ongoing barriers to implementation. The city would like to find more affordable alternatives or new funding sources so that it can finally provide its residents and their pets with a public place to play. Students in the course researched important elements of dog parks and alternative funding models to help Apache Junction persevere. Its graduate students performed surveys and field observations, dug through documents about off-leash dog parks and the practices of other cities, and compare plans and parks to provide this guidance.