The hearings committee of chairman Cr Neville Peat and Crs Mike Lord and Doug Hall has listened to submitters' concerns and recommended a dog control policy which eases restrictions on dog owners.
If approved by the council on Monday, the new policy will mean dogs would continue to be allowed off leash on non-marked areas of council sports fields. There would also be a 12-month trial allowing dogs on leashes in the CBD and in cemeteries.
This is a marked change from the original proposal to require dogs to be kept on a leash on sports fields, after complaints about dogs fouling.
Cr Peat said the committee made changes to the policy after listening to the "compelling'' arguments from more than 380 submitters. Most of them supported a less restrictive dog control policy.
The new policy, if approved, would result in Dunedin mirroring other cities around New Zealand and the world where there are fewer restrictions on dog ownership.
However, the new rights, including the proposed trial allowing dogs on a leash in cemeteries and the CBD, would come with responsibilities.
"My main message is that any increased rights have to come with a good deal of responsibility on the part of the dog owners,''
Cr Peat said.
This was reflected in the proposed policy, which included limitations on the extra freedoms for dog owners.
This included a requirement for dogs to be on a leash while sports games were being played and not to be left unattended when in the CBD.
The hearings panel also proposed requiring dogs to be kept on a leash within 20m of protected wildlife, reflecting the concern from many submitters that a 10m restriction was not enough.
Other proposed changes:
• Permitting dogs on a leash on the The Esplanade, St Clair and some of the surrounding area.
• Permitting dogs to be exercised off leash in Peninsula Beach Rd, Port Chalmers.
• Extending the prohibited area for dogs at Brighton Beach.
• Requiring dogs to be on a leash in the area closest to the Chisholm Park Golf Club.
A group of dog owners who walk their dogs in Jubilee Park, Mornington, were happy with the changes when asked yesterday.
Ewa Rozecka-Pollard, who collected nearly 100 signatures in opposition to the original proposal, said she was "absolutely delighted'' the hearings panel had listened to their concerns.
There was a "real community'' of dog owners who walked their dogs on Jubilee Park, and this would have been threatened if dogs were restricted to only being allowed on the field when on a lead.
"Dogs need to exercise and so do we,'' she said.
Most owners were responsible and picked up after their dogs.
