Dog park planned for new Kitty Hawk, N.C. complex

KITTY HAWK, N.C. 

Dog owners on the Outer Banks can walk their dogs on beautiful beaches and stroll along wooded trails, but there are few places where pets can socialize with their canine cohorts.

For years, residents here have been clamoring for a dog park. Now, it looks as if dog lovers have gotten their wish: A new Dare County park will include one within the 11-acre complex planned in Kitty Hawk.

"We're definitely going to do the dog park first," said Tim White, the county's public services director. "There is not one in Dare County, and that was the top request."

Some dog owners started an informal campaign to get a park for their pooches when the county was looking for suggestions in 2006 on ways to use the Bowsertown property in Manteo. It was eventually decided to build affordable housing at the site.

Lisa Penosky, owner of Pup-arazzi Pet Bow-tique, a dog retail store in Manteo, said she has heard a lot of people express an interest in a dog park.

"A lot of visitors take it for granted," she said. "They're like, 'Where's the dog park?' They're disappointed."

Ellen Carey, a dog trainer and the owner of Greater Coastal Canine Academy in Powell's Point, warned that to keep the dogs safe, there must be careful record-taking and qualified people to monitor the animals.

"It's like taking a bunch of 3-year-olds and putting them in a room without supervision," she said.

The proposed county park in Kitty Hawk will also include the other top requests: a skate park, tennis courts and basketball courts, White said. Depending on the permitting process, he said, the park could be completed before summer.

Purchased in December 2006 for $1.025 million, the land - once the location of a golf driving range - is situated along Kitty Hawk Road just west of the fire station.

Part of the cost was paid by a $500,000 grant received in 2007 from the state Parks and Recreation Trust Fund.

Since then, public meetings were held to gather input on uses for the site, White said, and those ideas were rolled into a conceptual design for the park that was presented earlier this month.

"Now we've got what we think the public wants," he said.

Intended for "passive recreation," the park would include an 1,800-foot walking trail, a boardwalk and benches.

The conceptual drawing shows a dog park on the northwest end, with a picnic area between it and a skate park.

On the other end are areas for a playground, a double tennis court and an outdoor basketball court.

In the middle of the sketch, there's an indoor pool, but "that's way down the road," White said.

Engineers are reviewing the proposal, he said, and more information is expected to be available by next month.

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com