Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky championed dog park sign issue at City Hall
Staff Writer | Mayor of Scottsdale
In the final months of last year, Scottsdale resident Steve Sutton says he was hitting a brick wall when it came to garnering support for better etiquette signs at the Chaparral Dog Park.
But that was before Mayor Lisa Borowsky took office.
“At the newly seated City Council’s, I made a motion to have Mr. Sutton’s issue studied by city staff to find a solution for him and all the dog lovers at Chaparral Park,” Mayor Borowsky said recalling the passive and non-passive dog park conundrum.
“The entire Council agreed this was an issue worth solving and, on Feb. 11, we unanimously approved new dog park designations at Chaparral Park improving the safety and quality of experience for owners and their dogs.”
Mr. Sutton says when the new mayor was sworn-in, a new narrative and feeling began to emerge at City Hall, 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd.
“My experience with Mayor Borowsky’s office has been better than I ever hoped,” Mr. Sutton told scottsdalemayor.com. “Some of this I attribute to my actions in the preceding four months that provided the mayor, her staff, City Council, and city management an opportunity to have a good understanding of the complexity of the dog park sign issue.”
For Mr. Sutton he says the positive experience he had at City Hall is a direct result of the Office of Mayor Lisa Borowsky willingness to listen.
“Mostly my very positive experience of working with the mayor’s office is attributable to the mayor and her staff having the good character and leadership skills to take a small amount of their time away from issues that are far more complex and important for hundreds of thousands of Scottsdalians to support a good idea which improves safety, which is very important to a few thousand Scottsdalians,” Mr. Sutton said.
Mr. Sutton’s municipal journey toward appropriate dog park signs began during the summer months of 2023 when long-established ‘Active Area’ and ‘Passive Area’ signs were replaced at the Chaparral Dog Park.
“The change occurred without seeking input from residents using the dog park,” he explained. “The initial reaction of residents who have visited the dog park almost daily for years was complaints among themselves and non-compliance with the change.”
Following several incidents of conflict between passive and non-passive canines, Mr. Sutton said he sprung into action to help alleviate concerns and anxiety around the dog park.
“Chaparral Dog Park, like all dog parks, has an inherent potential for people and dogs to be injured. We now have three new types of signs at the dog park: Area Designation Signs (Active and Passive), Dog Park Etiquette Signs, and Entry/Exit Gate Precaution Signs,” he said of the fruit of his labors.
“The Active Dog Area and Passive Dog Area signs help to reduce the potential for injury by providing not just a designation of an area but an explanatory text of the designation.”
Mr. Sutton says the key goal of his efforts is education for his fellow Scottsdale dog lovers.
“These signs help dog owners make an informed decision about what is the appropriate area for their dog,” he said. “The Dog Park Etiquette signs provide information on how to cooperate to make the dog park a safer and happier place for dogs and dog owners.”
Collaboration emerges at Scottsdale City Hall
Mr. Sutton says ultimately his experience with the city of Scottsdale has been a positive one, unlike the challenges he faced with prior city leadership.
Since August 2024 Mr. Sutton had attended both Parks and Recreation Commission and City Council meetings resulting in a report from the City Manager’s Office lacking a sense of urgency around the complex canine issue.
“At Mayor Borowsky’s first City Council Meeting, on her Inauguration Day, I told the City Council about the errors in the City Manager’s Office report and reiterated many of the facts from research I had done about the Dog Park Signs that I had presented repeatedly to the previous City Council, and Parks Department and Commission over the prior four months,” he explained of his first interaction with Mayor Borowsky and her office staff.
“Immediately after doing so, the mayor’s chief of staff contacted me to schedule a meeting. That night my optimism returned for all the dog park visitors, hearing that facts and logic might triumph over needless bureaucratic delay and intransigence.”
The rest, as they say, is history, and following a new City Council being seated and settled, Mr. Sutton was able to move his idea forward.
“People now have something to reference in making a decision about what is appropriate for their dog,” he pointed out.
“People have easy to read, concise, generalized information on how to recognize and proactively prevent inappropriate dog behaviors. Hostile confrontations about dog size have greatly diminished.”
Furthermore, Mr. Sutton says at Chaparral Dog Park, Scottsdale residents have good things to say about the municipality, its elected leadership and the Parks and Recreation Department.
“People appear to be communicating and cooperating better,” he said. “Frequent visitors no longer feel that it is futile to try to obtain improvements at the dog park. People have a much more favorable opinion of the Parks and Recreation Department. What was an unpleasant relationship with The Parks and Recreation Department is now a congenial and collaborative relationship.”
But Mr. Sutton also says, he gives credit, where credit is due.
“Dog park visitors know that I did most of the work to get them what they wanted but they also know, because I’ve shared my experience, it was primarily Mayor Lisa Borowsky, a dog lover, who took the time to understand the urgent need for new signs and got the City Council to take action.”
