Hello,
I walk my dog several times a day. We frequently pass a neighbor’s house, where if the woman living there is outside, she complains loudly that my dog sometimes defecates in “her yard.” If my dog does “go” in front of her house, it’s on the grass median between the road and sidewalk. My understanding is this is public property and as long as I pick up after her, it’s fine for my dog to potty here. Am I wrong?
Thank you,
Cathy
Hi Cathy, thanks so much for your question. If you haven’t heard, the Seal Beach Police Department recently received a Certified Facility Dog from Canine Companions for Independence named Yosa (make sure you follow Yosa on Instagram @k9yosa). As Yosa’s handler, I’ve become very familiar with the task of toileting and picking up after the dog …
In researching your question, I’ve come to find out that the term for the grass strip between the sidewalk and street curb varies depending on where you are located in the United States. In California, we generally refer to it as the parkway. In Kalamazoo, Michigan, they call it a curb lawn. In Long Island, New York, it’s the island strip. In Massachusetts, it is called the tree belt. In Pennsylvania, it is the grassplot. In Akron, Ohio, they call it the Devil’s strip … If you’re bored look this up. There’s 50 more names for this part of municipal infrastructure.
For the purposes of this article, we’ll call it the parkway. The Seal Beach Municipal Code (§9.10.010) defines a parkway as the “area between the sidewalk and the curb of a street. Where there is no sidewalk, area between the edge of the roadway and the property line adjacent thereto.” This same section of the Municipal Code defines the Public Right-of-Way as “place of any nature that is dedicated to use by the public for pedestrian or vehicular travel, including without limitation: a street, sidewalk, curb, gutter, intersection, parkway, highway, alley, lane, mall, court, way, avenue, boulevard, road, roadway, viaduct, subway, tunnel, bridge, thoroughfare, park, square or any similar public way.”
So technically the parkway is public property. Although residents are generally required to maintain the parkway, it isn’t part of your neighbor’s lawn.
On to the question of your pup’s parkway potty. The Seal Beach Municipal Code (§7.05.080) states that “No cat owner or dog owner shall fail or refuse to remove feces defecated by the animal onto city property or onto private property not owned by such owner.”
Cathy, you aren’t wrong. Your pooch can use the parkway, even in front of your neighbor’s house, so long as you promptly pick up after him or her.
Thanks again for the question! Keep them coming Seal Beach! Email your questions to me at askacop@sealbeachca.gov today!
P.S. I wanted to give a very special thank you to Ms. Dianne Nicholson.
She came to visit us with her lovely 104 year old mother (and brought the PD some delicious treats!). I really appreciate Ms. Nicholson’s kind words and gesture.
It is nice to know that this article is received so well by her neighbors and friends. I sincerely appreciate it. Thank you!
