RESIDENTS, NOT DOGS, HAVE THEIR DAY : THOUSAND OAKS CURBS PLANS FOR LEASH-FREE PARK IN WESTLAKE.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

Triunfo Community Park won't be going to the dogs anytime soon, if ever.

Responding to an outpouring of complaints from nearby residents, the Conejo Recreation and Park District has removed the Westlake Village park as the ``initial site'' for a proposed leash-free dog park.

The board instead asked park district staff to formulate a list of criteria for developing a so-called ``doggie park'' somewhere in the community, where dogs can safely run free in an enclosed area.

``It was obvious to me that, given the volume, quality and quantity of responses, that there was an absence of acceptance for this type of activity,'' board Chairman Dennis Gillette said. ``The greatest majority of the people I heard from - who called me, at meetings - was that they did not object to that type of facility in the community.

``But they simply did not want it at Triunfo,'' he said.

The board decision doesn't preclude Triunfo from ever being considered, Gillette said. It simply puts the park at the bottom of the list of potential sites for the facility.

``The district maintains, either by itself or jointly, thousands of acres,'' he said. ``Every option will be looked at prior to Triunfo being looked at again.''

Demand for the dog parks, where urban dwellers can find a bit of space where leash laws don't apply, has been on the rise in recent years.

For example, three have opened up in Los Angeles, including in Silver Lake and Laurel Canyon and, most recently, on a 10-acre lot in the Sepulveda Basin.

The Los Angeles Parks Commission recently proposed expanding the number of such parks from three to 100, a proposal that prompted some City Council members to bark that parks should be for people, not pooches.

In Thousand Oaks, the brouhaha over the locally proposed doggie park started in the summer when a group of dog owners called Park 'n' Bark approached the Conejo park district about establishing such a leash-free zone - the city's first - in the area.

The group had offered to enter a partnership with the park district in which Park 'n' Bark would raise money to pay for a portion of the project, possibly going in on the project about 50-50, said Debby Carloni, president of the group.

The park district proposed Triunfo park as a viable site for the facility, Carloni said. The group was just looking for a place where a portion could be enclosed for dogs to run free, keeping dogs and people safe, she said.

But nearby residents almost immediately began complaining, saying that a park so close to homes would be inappropriate for such a facility.

Park 'n' Bark had not been pushing exclusively for Triunfo. The group was satisfied with the Conejo board's decision, Carloni said.

``We would just like an area that they could set aside for it,'' Carloni said. ``We're fine with (the decision). We want to be good neighbors and work with the community.

``You never want to go in an area where you're not wanted - it sets you up for failure.''

Don Power, who lives across the street from the park and had vehemently opposed the proposal, said he was ``reasonably comfortable'' with the decision.

The only flea in the fur is that Triunfo isn't entirely precluded from consideration - something he would have liked to have seen.

``I felt fairly comfortable with what they did,'' Power said. ``I think they softened what I would have liked to have heard: They at least left the possibility open for some use of this area for a leash-free park.''