(KCPW News) Law enforcement officers are getting more serious about enforcing the rules at Parley’s Historic Nature Park. Beginning Monday, Salt Lake County Councilman Steve DeBry, who is also a Unified Police Department Deputy Chief, says the UPD will begin writing tickets to visitors who don’t follow regulations, rather than just issuing a warning.
“That’s been going on for over a year and it’s gotten to the point where people know that you’re just giving us a warning or you’re going to give us a verbal warning or a courtesy notice,” he tells KCPW.
There’s been uncertainty about how to enforce the rules at the park because it’s owned by Salt Lake City but located in the unincorporated county. To help solve that problem, the Salt Lake County Council amended its ordinance earlier this week to fit the city’s management plan.
“Everybody that frequents the dog park, they’re well aware of what the rules are, it’s posted, it’s fenced,” he says. “I mean, we’ve had a lot of vandalism, we’ve lost signs, fences have been torn down because a lot of people aren’t happy with what the regulations are that the city has legislated for down there, but it’s their park and it’s their rules and ordinances and we have to enforce them.”
Early last year, Salt Lake City adopted a new comprehensive management plan restricting off-leash dog use in the park, to the dismay of outspoken dog-owning advocates. Mayor Ralph Becker had pushed for the change because of what he called deteriorating environmental conditions.
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