IN THE PIPELINE:Howling puts Dog Beach in jeopardy

I was in Jamestown, N.D., last week. While there, I heard someone from Los Angeles remark they’d just visited our own Dog Beach for the first time. They loved it, and said they’d soon be back.

In a sweeping meadow in the Peace Garden State, it hit me how iconic and far-reaching Dog Beach has become — a Huntington Beach institution that, at least for thousands of dog owners, seems to eclipse anything else in the city. All of a sudden, I couldn’t wait to get home so we could take our feisty mutt, Marilyn, for a run and a swim.

Imagine my shock a couple of days later when I returned home to learn that the future of Dog Beach as we know it is in jeopardy.

I met Martin Senat on the bluffs above Dog Beach and he was clearly upset. The nonprofit project was his brainchild and for 10 years, the soft-spoken Brit has spent endless hours making it real.

He does it for the love of the animals, so they can simply have a place where “dogs can be dogs,” as he says. Now his dream is being threatened by the city he and his associates have served so tirelessly.

The reasons for the threat at this point are murky, but here’s what Martin knows: In the last year or two, a disgruntled local jogger, seemingly with an ax to grind against Dog Beach, began complaining to local officials about the information tables and T-shirt racks set up there at three points along the bluff each weekend. Supposedly, she found them to be eyesores, so she began making noise.

Then last month, a letter from the city was sent to Senat, saying that, due to some complaints from the public, the stations should be cleaned up a bit. The suggestions were gentle and reasonable, and Senat reorganized his stations to answer the “garage sale look” accusations.

Problem fixed, right? Wrong.

Two weeks ago, another letter from the city arrived, and its tone was harsher. Now Senat was basically being ordered to get his information station off the bluffs and down onto the beach, where they’d essentially be invisible to the passing traffic.

Senat was stunned, because he knew an order like that was tantamount to killing Dog Beach. The booths and T-shirt stations are the lifeblood of this nonprofit organization; 90% of Dog Beach’s support is derived from these weekend set-ups (they generate about $10,000 per month). They allow Senat to pay 14 employees, buy dog bags, cleaners, dispensers, signage, brochures, insurance, even a dog trainer who helps out on the beach.

Did you know that Senat and his group provided all of those things without an ounce of help from the city? Well, they do.

And this is the thanks they’re getting. If anyone says they’re not looking to eliminate Dog Beach, just take away those stations and the organization falls apart.

In answering the first letter, Senat had offered that he is in the process of creating retail outlets throughout the city where Dog Beach patrons can pick up their merchandise. This would alleviate some pressure on the bluffs.

He outlined the community service programs that put troubled juveniles to work at Dog Beach, an incredibly successful arrangement that helps thousands of needy youngsters. Not to mention the thousands of people Dog Beach draws to the city, how Dog Beach keeps all of those parking meters loaded and, most importantly, how much we locals love the place (there are people, Senat says, who actually move here just to enjoy the benefits of Dog Beach).

Why the city has chosen to play hardball at this point is anyone’s guess. Are there really numerous complaints about the look of the bluffs?

Senat has photos of other groups that set up on the bluffs and they look no different than what Dog Beach puts up. Plus, if the city is all of a sudden ultra-sensitive to sidewalk aesthetics, why not address the racks and racks of gear that clutter the shops at Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street?

Rather than being thankful and helping Senat out (for years he’s asked for a simple shed to store his T-shirts, to no avail), it seems they’re doing the one thing to put it out of business — cutting off its ability to create awareness and raise funds.

If that happens, the organization Senat and his members have worked hard to create will disappear. What will that stretch of beach be like without the organizers, volunteers and doggie bags? Canine chaos for sure.

Senat is not looking for a fight. He simply wants to keep Dog Beach thriving as a valuable part of the community. So let the city officials know what you think, before this process reaches a point of no return. Go to [email protected]. As well, post your opinion at In The Pipeline, www.hbindependent.com/ columns.

Lastly, visit www.dogbeach.org to download their petition.

It’s time to call off the dogs.