Unofficial Playa Del Rey dog park in jeopardy

For years, residents in Playa del Rey have used some vacant Gas Co. land as a makeshift park & the Gas Co. has looked the other way.  But now, the space has turned into a off-leash dog park of sorts -- and the utility is rethinking its open attitude.

Residents living near a Southern California Gas Company facility off Manchester Avenue in Playa del Rey have long valued the company’s openness to having a grassy section of its property be accessible for the community.

Many say that for years they’ve been coming to the plot of land near 79th Street and Gulana Avenue to lie in the field, play with their children or walk their dog. The property has become a significant neighborhood resource in a part of Los Angeles with limited open spaces, they say.

Representatives of Southern California Gas Company say they’ve liked allowing the community to enjoy the open area over the years, but with the influx of people using the site as an off-leash dog park, they are unable to keep the property accessible,