Smyrna Purchases Property to Enhance Popular Dog Park

The Smyrna City Council this week approved 6-1 the purchase of property at 0 Birch Street to be used in conjunction with Burger Park.

Councilman Wade Lnenicka cast the only “no” vote for purchase of the around two-acres of land, which cost the city $15,000.

According to Councilman Jimmy Smith, the city plans to use the Birch Street property as parking for Smyrna’s Burger Dog Park, located at 680 Glendale Place. Additional parking has been needed at Burger for some time, Smith told Patch. The city had been in the midst of another land deal to try to secure more parking but when that fell through, purchasing the Birch Street property seemed to make sense.

The dog park near school is in Smith's Ward 5. It is very popular with neighbors and draws big crowds of dogs and their owners after work and on weekends. “I’ve had my eye on that property for about five years,” Smith said.

Smith clarified that only a small portion of the land will be used for parking and that the rest of the land will be left in its natural state, except for a walking trail leading from the parking area to Burger.

“I don’t want to put the parking places close to the existing residences,” Smith said. “I want to keep their privacy. In turn I want to give them a park that will compliment the neighborhood.”

The land is the ideal candidate for this type of project because it is located in a flood plain. A stream, which law states structures can’t be built within 50-feet of, runs through the property.

 “You can clean it up and use it but you can’t build on it,” Smith explained.

Public Works will be brought in to clear out the underbrush as the first step in the project but Smith said that, as of now, no timetable for completion has been set.

“It is up to their [Public Works] schedule,” he said.