Since 2019, city staff have been working with the community to design and plan a 1-acre off leash dog area, trail connection, parking lot and restroom at the city-owned property on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Carlsbad Village Drive. Because parts of Village H South are designated for habitat preservation and the site as a whole is an open space wildlife corridor, the proposed changes required environmental analysis, several stages of review and approval by outside agencies, and updates to city land use plans.

The City of Carlsbad took ownership of a 61-acre piece of property at the corner of Carlsbad Village Drive and Victoria Lane, as part of a lawsuit settlement involving the Quarry Creek housing project. Now that the city owns the property, the trail through the southern portion is open for public access.

A half-mile trail runs through the southern section of this property that has long been planned to become part of the citywide trails system. Historically, when the property was privately owned, some community members used the trail as a place to walk with their dogs off leash. A previous owner put up a fence, locked gate and no trespassing signs, but the public continued to use the property. Under city and county laws, dogs on city trails must be on a maximum six-foot leash, and dogs are not allowed in city parks, except dog parks.

In April 2019, city staff presented a comprehensive overview of the issues involved to the City Council. The City Council then directed city staff to engage residents in the development of a plan to integrate an off-leash dog run as part of the Village H property. You can read the report or watch the presentation video.

City Council voted unanimously on April 14, 2020, to move forward with a hybrid concept plan for Village H South that will include an off-leash dog area while protecting sensitive habitat preserves and providing for wildlife movement. Read the staff report or watch the City Council meeting video. 

The planned project was a hybrid concept, developed with community input.

• A segment of the west side of the property's existing trail loop would have been included within the limits of the off-leash dog area, while the rest of the trail loop remained unchanged.
• The area east of the off-leash dog area and trail would remain open space that the city would maintain through weed abatement and routine monitoring intended to allow native vegetation to remain.
• The project would protect sensitive habitat preserves and allow for wildlife movement through the open space next to the off-leash dog area.
• Staff recommended the hours of operation of the off-leash dog area to be from 8 a.m. to sunset, the same as the other three Carlsbad dog parks.

• April 2019 – City Council directed staff to work with the community to integrate an off-leash dog run as part of the Village H property
• June 2019 – Community input gathered
• Dec. 2019 – City staff presented options to City Council
• April 14, 2020 – City Council approved project plans
• Aug. 2022 – City staff started environmental review process
• Oct. 2022 – City Council directed staff to put project on hold

The city gathered initial input from the community through a meeting and a survey in June 2019. Read the summary report and supporting appendices that provide an overview of the input received.

City staff originally developed four options for an off-leash dog run based on the input received from the community. City staff reviewed the opportunities and constraints detailed in all four options and developed one additional staff option. All options were presented to City Council on December 10, 2019.

City Council directed staff to continue work with Preserve Calavera to consider refinements to the staff option. City staff did so over the next few months and came up with the hybrid concept plan.

Village H South is part of an important wildlife movement corridor that connects core habitat areas. To get a better understanding of how Village H South is used by wildlife, people and domestic dogs, a wildlife movement study was conducted at the site using remote wildlife cameras, roadkill monitoring along the streets that border Village H and dog waste studies. Monitoring took place prior to and after the Village H South site was officially opened to the public on Aug. 1, 2019, to document potential changes in wildlife movement patterns. Studies are ongoing and wildlife monitoring will continue moving forward.

For a summary of the study's results, read the wildlife movement report.