SACO — After hearing input from Scarborough residents, a couple of Saco city councilors would like to revisit a proposed ordinance that would require dogs to be on leash on the beach at all times from April 1 to Sept. 30.

Currently, dogs must be on leash at at the beach from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. only during July and August.

The suggested ordinance change is being proposed to match requirements of a beach management plan the city signed earlier this summer with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The beach agreement ensures protection of endangered and at-risk wildlife, including piping plovers, a tiny shore bird that is a federal threatened species and state endangered species.

The beach management plan needs to be in place in order for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to agree to a beach replenishment project, say city officials. The proposed project would use sand from dredging of the Saco River in November to replenish a stretch of eroded coastline in the Camp Ellis area.

A few Saco residents spoke out at a public hearing on Monday regarding the issue.

Saco resident Mark Gross said he favored the proposed ordinance change. He said not all dogs are controllable by voice, and the proposal protected both the environment and people.

Saco resident Cushing Samp said she enjoyed taking her small dog Phineas to the beach, as he was well-received and very popular with other beach goers.

“It engenders such a sense of community,” she said.

A few residents from Scarborough spoke at a public hearing on Monday night and stated that city officials should rethink the proposed ordinance change.

One of these was Scarborough resident Katy Foley, who spearheaded a petition a couple of years ago to overturn an ordinance that would have required dogs to be on beaches on leash year-round. The town of Scarborough had introduced the year-round leash law after a plover was killed by an unleashed dog in Pine Point as a way of dramatically reducing a fine from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Scarborough’s law now restricts dogs from beaches between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. from May 15 to Labor Day, but does allow dogs off leash on beaches from sunrise to 9 a.m. and on-leash on beaches after 5 p.m. From the day after Labor Day to the May 14, dogs must be on-leash on beaches from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Foley said that Saco shouldn’t feel that it has to have such a restrictive beach law in order for the U.S. Army Corps to move forward with the beach nourishment plan.

“They should put that sand where your town needs it, it’s the right thing to do, not because they’re holding something over your heads,” she said.

Foley’s sister, Suzanne Foley-Ferguson, said she helped write Scarborough’s piping plover ordinance. She said she believes in protecting plovers, but there needs to be some balance. She also told Saco city officials not to feel pressured by federal officials.

Councilor Nathan Johnston said he though city officials should explore Scarborough’s ordinance.

“I felt from the very beginning that we were strong-armed into this,” he said. “If felt as though we had no other choice, and it sounds like we have another choice.”

Councilor Micah Smart, said he thought dredging was important, but would “love to continue the conversation and explore other options” than the current ordinance change proposal on the table.

Councilor Alan Minthorn said he could see both sides of the issue. He said the city has had its first dredging opportunity in 15 years, and shouldn’t do anything to slow down the process. He said the city should move forward with the proposed ordinance change and then it could revisit the ordinance after the dredging and subsequent beach nourishment occurred.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.