If neighbors started asking for a fenced dog area at Circle C Metropolitan Park in 2015, and the city had a plan drawn up by 2016, what took ten years?
Support was never the slow part. A City Council resolution adopted February 26, 2026 lays out the history. Southwest Austin pet owners organized in 2015 after a series of reported dangerous encounters with off-leash dogs in local parks. Austin Parks and Recreation ran a public engagement process in 2016 and produced a plan for a fenced off-leash area at Circle C, then "postponed development pending a funding source." The rest of the decade went into finding a way to pay for it. The fence posts now going in near the Slaughter Lane entrance are there because of a budget rule Council adopted in January 2026.
A plan with no funding source
For most of those years, the Circle C dog park existed only as a recommendation. In 2019, Council approved the parks department's long-range plan, Our Parks, Our Future, which called for an off-leash dog park at Circle C Metropolitan Park. The 2026 resolution also points out that no permanent city off-leash area exists anywhere in Council District 8 outside Zilker Park, or anywhere in Southwest Austin, and that the closest one is more than an hour's walk away.
The first money arrived in small amounts. In August 2024, the Austin Monitor reported that Council Member Paige Ellis had secured $25,000 in the city budget for a six-month District 8 off-leash pilot, possibly at Circle C, to pay for fencing, signs and trash bins. The parks department set up a temporary area at the park in early 2025 to gather feedback, test maintenance costs and check environmental impact.
What the pilot settled
The pilot gave the city data to work from. The survey ran from February 4 to June 9, 2025. The public survey report shows 465 participants, who gave 5,133 responses and 1,918 comments. Among respondents, 85% said they had used the temporary area. 86% said it gave them a place to let dogs off leash without conflict, and 76% said it encouraged compliance with the leash ordinance. One comment, dated June 15, 2025, said simply, "Please please bring it back!"
The 76% figure ties back to the original 2015 complaint. The people who organized in 2015 were worried about loose dogs on shared trails and fields. The pilot measured something close to that, and three in four respondents said a fenced space helped keep dogs leashed everywhere else in the park.
The city's own pages give different end dates for the pilot. The pilot program page lists a removal date of June 3, 2025, and the permanent project page describes engagement and maintenance review running from February through August 2025. Either way, the results came out in summer 2025. According to the resolution, they showed "a high level of community satisfaction" with the location and strong support for a permanent facility, and the parks department approved one.
Approval, and still no money
Approval still didn't produce funding right away. Council included a small ongoing funding stream for a permanent Circle C off-leash area in the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget, but the resolution says that money "has been delayed."
The change that broke the logjam happened at City Hall. On January 22, 2026, Council adopted a new budget and expense policy for council offices, Resolution No. 20260122-085, that allows a council member to transfer district office funds to a city department. Each transfer needs a resolution stating the maximum amount, the purpose and the department receiving it. Community Impact reported that Ellis herself had proposed that allowance the month before.
Five weeks later, the Circle C dog park became one of the first projects funded under the new rule. Here's the sequence:
- 2015. Southwest Austin pet owners ask the parks department for an off-leash area after reported dangerous encounters.
- 2016. The parks department drafts a fenced plan for Circle C and shelves it for lack of funding.
- 2019. The citywide parks long-range plan recommends the Circle C dog park.
- August 2024. Ellis secures $25,000 for a District 8 pilot.
- Early 2025. The temporary pilot area opens and the survey begins.
- Summer 2025. Results support a permanent facility, and the parks department approves it.
- January 22, 2026. Council lets council offices transfer district funds to city departments.
- February 26, 2026. Council authorizes up to $100,000 from the District 8 office for the permanent dog park.
The February resolution has one more clause, and it sets a deadline. Approval of the $100,000 is granted "only through December 31, 2026, and must be reauthorized if an extension is needed beyond this date." The same tool that finally got the money moving also put an end date on it.
What is being built near the Slaughter Lane entrance
The city's project page describes Phase 1 as about half an acre near the Slaughter Lane entrance. It will replace a temporary off-leash area that was installed again in winter 2026. The funding combines the $100,000 from the District 8 council office with $160,000 in operating funds from the city's general fund.
The site comes with tight constraints. Circle C Ranch on Slaughter Creek Metropolitan Park covers 590 acres and has served Southwest Austin for more than 40 years, with trails, fields, sports courts, a playground and a disc golf course. The off-leash area sits close to Slaughter Creek and to several heritage oaks. The design has to stay out of the creek's critical water quality transition zone and out of the trees' critical root zones, while still providing shade and open space. The city's site map shows the fence outline next to the parking area, with the root zones shaded green and the water quality boundary drawn as a red line across the site.
The reported list of features has gotten shorter since spring. Here's how the March 2026 news report compares with the city's current project page:
| Item | Community Impact, March 6, 2026 | City project page, current |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 0.5 acre | About one-half acre |
| Budget | $260,000 | $100,000 District 8 plus $160,000 general fund |
| Entry | Double-gated entries | Fencing and entryway gates |
| Water fountain | Listed | Not listed |
| Lighting | Listed | Not listed |
| Natural seating | Listed | Not listed |
| Accessible parking | Not mentioned | Listed |
| Heritage oak protection | Not mentioned | Listed |
| Future expansion | A later phase could reach 2 acres | Not described |
The city's page doesn't say whether the fountain, lighting and seating were moved to a later phase or dropped. Until the city says otherwise, the best way to read Phase 1 is fence, gates, parking and tree protection.
Community Impact reported that the Circle C area will be the city's 30th dog off-leash area and the only one within several miles. Ellis described how the push built up over the years:
"Through neighborhood meetings, moms groups, online advocacy, dog lovers and their families asked to enjoy a recreational opportunity long available to residents in other parts of the city."
Where the schedule stands in October
The schedule on the city's page reads as follows. Concept plan development in spring 2026 is marked complete. Phase 1 installation started in summer 2026 and is marked in progress. Phase 1 completion is set for fall 2026. No ribbon-cutting or opening date has been posted. In March, Community Impact reported an expected opening before 2027. That target lines up with the December 31 end date on the District 8 money, so both point toward the last quarter of this year.
The city's pages don't confirm that the reinstated temporary area is open today, and they don't give its exact footprint. Here's where else to go in the meantime, using the city's 2026 off-leash map:
- Mary Moore Searight Metro Park, 907 W. Slaughter Lane
- Onion Creek Greenbelt, 7004 Onion Creek Drive
- Circle C Metropolitan Park, 6301 W. Slaughter Lane, which the map lists as a future off-leash area
The same rules apply at every city off-leash area. Dogs have to be leashed walking to and from the area, stay under sight-and-sound control while off leash, and handlers clean up after them. City parks are generally open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. unless a sign says otherwise. During the pilot, the city noted that temporary areas have no water, so bring a bowl and bags.
Getting to the Slaughter Lane entrance this fall may take some extra patience. The city's Slaughter Lane corridor project between MoPac and Brodie Lane is still underway. It's rebuilding the road as a six-lane divided street with updated signals, shared-use paths and drainage work.
Ellis said in March that the area would give Southwest Austin residents "an accessible, secure and interactive outdoor space" in "one of our largest and most popular metropolitan parks." The fence going in near the Slaughter Lane lot is the first piece of that to actually be built.
At Ace Team ATX, we follow the details that shape everyday life in Circle C, from park projects to the road work along Slaughter Lane, and we're always glad to talk through them with neighbors in English or Spanish. If a dog-friendly routine near the Wildflower Center and the Metropolitan Park is part of what you're planning for your next home, let's find your Austin home together.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
