Our sand volleyball court sits quiet most of the week — this campaign is for the people who live here and the dogs. With a fence, a gate, and some wood chips, it becomes a safe, off-leash dog park for the whole community — reusing space we already own.
The volleyball court sees intermittent use relative to how many households here have dogs. Meanwhile, off-leash dogs already create friction on shared lawns and sidewalks, and the nearest public dog park is across town on Avenida La Pata — roughly a 12–15 minute drive. We can solve all three at once — by reusing a footprint we already own.
A single-sport court that sits idle most days, serving a narrow slice of residents.
A safe, fenced, off-leash space keeps dogs — and the neighbors around them — happy and out of conflict.
Keeping the sand as a drainage sub-base saves roughly $2,700–$7,800 versus hauling it out and importing fill.
Left is our actual court today. Drag across to see the same spot as a Phase 1 dog park — same homes, same hillside, same pool behind it — with a fenced yard, wood-chip surface, shade, benches, water, and room to run.
Today
Vision images are AI-generated visualizations created from photos of the actual court — illustrative of Phase 1, not a final engineered design.
The same court, seen from the walkway and the lawn.
Well-kept common area, framed by lawn and hedges, right beside the pool.
Phase 1 delivers a fully functional dog park. Shade, a wash station, agility, and a small-dog split can be added later through sponsorships — so we never overbuild on day one.
Cleanup, 1–2% grade, retain the sand as sub-base, geotextile fabric.
5-ft vinyl-coated chain link, dig barrier, a sallyport (double-gate airlock so no dog bolts through a single open gate), service gate, rules signage.
Engineered wood-chip surfacing (decomposed-granite alternate) with edge restraint.
Dog/human combo fountain plus a lockable hose bib for cleaning.
Bag dispensers + covered trash, 2–3 benches, and a shade sail.
Take a low-use, single-sport court and redeploy it into one of the highest-frequency amenities a community can offer — at a fraction of the cost of building something new.
Amenity-rich, pet-friendly communities compete better in resale and leasing. A dedicated dog park is a named feature that widens the buyer and renter pool.
Reusing the sand sub-base saves ~$2,700–$7,800. Concentrating dogs in a fenced, insured space reduces turf damage, complaints, and liability exposure.
Same footprint, same insurance envelope, dramatically wider benefit — used by owners, renters, and even non-dog-owners as a social space by the pool.
Large-sounding totals shrink fast when spread across the community and the amenity's useful life. The method:
Per-home annual cost = (Phase 1 cost − funds raised) ÷ 144 homes ÷ 10-year life
Faire Harbour is 144 homes. Worst case — the association funds the entire $25,000 Phase 1 target with zero fundraising — that is $174 per home, once. Spread over a ten-year amenity life: about $17 per home per year — under $1.50 a month. And the plan is built so fundraising, sponsorships, and in-kind labor carry most of it, pushing the association’s share toward zero.
We are not promising a guaranteed dollar bump to any single home's value. No one can honestly do that.
We are arguing improved desirability, real cost avoidance, and efficient reuse of an asset we already own — a conservative, defensible case.
Sources: NAR “Animal House” / Fur Babies infographic (2025) · NAR 2024 Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers · NRPA 2026 Agency Performance Review (Fig. 3) · NAA citing the Michelson/HABRI Pet-Inclusive Housing Report · NMHC–Grace Hill 2024 Renter Preferences Survey.
Full line items live in the project cost sheet. This is the Phase 1 baseline: sand retained, chain-link fence + sallyport airlock, wood-chip surface, combo fountain, waste stations, benches, and shade.
| Bucket | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Site prep (recommended path) | $2,050 | $6,100 |
| Geotextile fabric | $250 | $600 |
| Fencing + sallyport airlock + service gate | $6,950 | $15,200 |
| Wood-chip surfacing | $3,200 | $8,000 |
| Water (fountain + hose bib) | $3,100 | $9,500 |
| Waste stations | $890 | $2,500 |
| Seating + shade sail | $3,000 | $9,700 |
| Year-1 bag ops | $200 | $500 |
| Contingency (10%) | ~$1,960 | ~$5,210 |
| Phase 1 planning total | ~$21,600 | ~$57,300 |
A blended funding stack keeps the burden off any single source:
Owners cast the ballots, but they care about one thing renters influence directly: how desirable and rentable this community is. Every renter who speaks up makes the owners' case for them.
Your landlord has a vote; you have their ear. A friendly note goes a long way:
Hi [Landlord] — as your tenant at [unit #]: the HOA is weighing turning the empty sand court by the pool into a fenced dog park. As a dog owner it would make me want to stay longer, and it makes the unit more appealing to future renters. When it comes to a board vote, I'd really appreciate your yes. Thanks for considering it!
Renters and owners alike — help us hand the board hard numbers.
Most of it takes minutes. Pick a track and jump in — even one action moves us forward.
Add your name to the petition, then send it to two neighbors. Signatures are the fastest way to show the board this is wanted.
A short letter of support carries more weight than a signature. Use our template — it takes five minutes.
Build days (fencing, chips, benches, signage) and a light weekly stewardship rotation once we're open.
Claim a named sponsorship or "buy a brick." Every dollar shrinks what the HOA has to cover.
Neighbors, HOA forums, social groups. Renters count too — bring your landlord along.
Open roles: project lead, treasurer, grant tracker, events, stewardship coordinator. An hour a month helps.
Peak use is short visits (20–45 min), not all-day kennel noise. The double-gate entry reduces barrier-frustration barking, and posted hours align with HOA quiet times. Chronic nuisance dogs are a handler problem, managed with the same progressive enforcement as pool or gym rules. A dedicated park actually concentrates activity where it can be managed, versus informal off-leash use on lawns.
Odor comes from urine saturation + wet waste + poor drainage — not dogs themselves. Design mitigations: retained free-draining sand, 1–2% grade, geotextile, chip surface, covered trash, and a scoop policy. Weekly bin service plus quarterly enzyme treatment (~$50–$400/cycle) keeps it in check. Natural grass is actually worse for odor under heavy traffic — which is why we don't recommend it.
Clear posted rules: owners are responsible for their dogs, enter at own risk, vaccinations recommended, no aggressive dogs. The double-gate airlock reduces escape incidents. Before opening, we confirm coverage with the HOA's insurance broker and adopt a rules-acknowledgment approach — the same way communities treat pools and playgrounds. It's a 15-minute broker call, not a reason for paralysis.
Year-1 bag/liner ops run ~$200–$500; chip refresh ~$800–$2,000/yr depending on traffic — much of it coverable by sponsorships. A light volunteer stewardship rotation handles weekly tidying, with monthly gate checks and quarterly enzyme treatment. It's a defined, budgeted routine, not an open-ended blight.
Low volleyball use is exactly the reason to convert. Capital moves to an amenity with broader, more frequent demand. The phased build means we don't overbuild on day one — Phase 1A alone gives us a secure, usable park.
Non-dog owners benefit from fewer dogs running loose on shared lawns and sidewalks, plus community-wide gains in desirability and neighbor social capital. And the funding mix emphasizes fundraising and sponsorships, not just a blanket assessment — the board chooses the mix.
Post "Residents and accompanied guests only" signage at the sallyport entry, with hours and rules. If any abuse appears, a simple fob/key access policy can be added later — not required for Phase 1.
Phase 1 is a single yard given the 4,000 sq ft footprint. Rules require supervision, allow temporary leashing, and ask handlers to leave if play isn't safe. An optional Phase 2 divider (~$1,500–$4,000) can follow if usage data supports it.
The board needs to see real demand before committing dollars. Two minutes here is the most useful thing you can do today.
Personalize and send — a short letter carries real weight in the record.
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