A citizen’s initiative to establish a pilot off-leash dog park in Kirkland that will be partly funded by dog owners may get a boost at the next Kirkland Park Board meeting Feb. 11, according to advocates and information provided by the Park Board.

Jean Guth, head of KDOG, the Kirkland Dog Off-leash Group, said she and her fellow dog-owners look forward to partnering with the City and neighborhoods to create an effective pilot.

“We’re prepared to raise funds, provide educational programs, whatever we can do to make this pilot successful,” Guth said last Wednesday at a KDOG informational meeting.

The Park Board could recommend the City Council create an ad hoc citizens group to review the proposal. This group would make specific recommendations to Parks Department staff, who will then develop timelines and cost estimates to make necessary improvements. After reviewing many possible locations, an undeveloped wooded area in Crestwoods Park is now the leading candidate.

Participating in the meeting as a private citizen, Kirkland Parks Board member Chuck Bartlett provided historical background.

“This idea got started six or seven years ago. There was a group of eight or ten people passionate about making the old Waverly Park an off-leash park. This was before Heritage Park was created.”

When the focus shifted to other locations, Bartlett said, the advocacy group lost interest and the initiative died.

“There needs to be a strong stewardship group, with members and funding, to make it happen,” Bartlett said. “We all know the City’s budget situation, so the only way to fast-track this is with a group’s financial support.”

Guth said she was convinced there are enough dog owners in Kirkland to create such a group and come up with the resources to support the park.

“More than 400 Kirkland residents have signed an online petition requesting a dog park,” she said, “and nearly 40 percent of Kirkland households have dogs. Many communities including Seattle, Redmond, Bellevue, even Medina have dog parks and have significant citizen groups supporting them.”

One potential concern among dog owners is the timeframe of the pilot.

“If our members are going to come up with $50,000 to help build out this park,” Guth said, “they need to know the City is committed.”

Opposition has historically come from neighbors concerned about traffic and citizens who are afraid of dogs, Guth said. One potential benefit of having an official off-leash park, she said, would be that dog owners who currently let their dogs off leash in other parks will go to the off-leash area instead.

Crestwoods is a good choice for a pilot, Bartlett said.

“We wouldn’t be taking land from other uses. It’s isolated from homes. There’s already a lot of parking. Because of its location, it’s not likely to become a regional destination park like Marymoor.”

A preliminary map of the pilot area shows it would be located in the woods east of Crestwood Park’s basketball court.

Another possible location would be Watershed Park in Houghton, but Bartlett said it would only be a candidate for long-term development.

“It’s all Scotch Broom right now,” he said, “and there’s no parking.”

Necessary improvements include fencing, signage, removal of noxious underbrush such as blackberries, and the installation of woodchips on areas that will be heavily used.

For additional information, Guth invited interested citizens to go to www.kdog.org and attend the Norkirk Neighborhood meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 in Heritage Hall. She and KDOG members who live in Norkirk will be there to answer neighborhood residents’ questions.

Mark Nassutti is a dog-owner, member of KDOG, and a recent resident of Norkirk.