Neighbor complaints quash plans for dog park in Bethesda

Location was near Blues & Jazz theater on Wisconsin Avenue

The owner of Bethesda Blues & Jazz was considering constructing a dog run on the property. via Google Earth

A developer’s plan to install a small dog park near the Bethesda Blues & Jazz theater in Bethesda was spiked amid neighbors’ complaints, according to filings with the county Planning Department.

Bozzuto Management Company recently began a project to replace dead and dying landscaping on and near the theater property on Wisconsin Avenue. Bozzuto planned to use the eastern edge of the site as a dog park, to “serve as an amenity for its residents,” according to a development application filed with the Planning Department. There are apartments above the theater.

Neighbors adjacent to the property “expressed some concerns over the proximity of the dog run to their homes,” the application says.

The dog park was not part of the original development plan for the property, approved in 2004.

After consulting neighbors and the Parks Department staff, Bozzuto officials decided “it no longer made sense, from a practical perspective,” to construct a dog park.

Instead, the company plans to install the same plants and green space on the property now.

The development application does not include any changes to the theater building.

The only dog park in Bethesda is Cabin John Dog Park, on Westlake Drive.

There are 10 dog parks in Montgomery County, according to Planning Board documents, and the county’s goal is to add 15 more within the next decade. Four of the existing parks are municipal facilities and six are at county parks.

In June, county planners identified 13 sites for future dog parks throughout the county, including Willard Avenue Neighborhood Park in Bethesda. Other nearby locations include North Chevy Chase Local Park, Elm Street Urban Park and Norwood Local Park.

The Parks Department will implement new dog parks as part of other capital projects, so a cost estimate and timeline for completion was not available, according to Planning Department documents.