The hope of creating a dog park or community garden for the Benson Hill neighborhood has hit a snag, but community leaders are moving forward with new ideas for a community gathering space.

Originally, the new Benson Hill Community Plan called for the empty space at the commercial center to create a community focal point, with a focus on  a dog park or garden, but a check by the property’s owner revealed that his insurance would not allow it.

According to Chuck Seil, vice president of the Cascade neighborhood Association, Cascade Village property owner Bruce Anderson’s insurance company told him that not only would they not cover a dog park, but the addition of a dog park to the property would force them to cancel his policy altogether.

“I was a little saddened by it,” said Seil, who owns a dog himself and was looking forward to the possibility off-leash space.

Senior Planner Erika Conkling said that while using the commercial space for a dog park may be out, there is still the possibility for the area.

“It’s not possible to have those things in the way they went about pursuing it,” said Senior Planner Erika Conkling. “It could be possible under different circumstances.”

Conkling said if a portion of the land is sold or leased to someone with another insurance policy, it could still happen, tough using the property owner’s insurance is no longer an option.

Conkling said the next draft of the Benson Hill Community Plan, expected to be release next week, will be less specific in its call for the use of the Cascade Village property, but it will keep the idea of a “quick win” in the area to create a public space and draw people to the plaza, something the planning department heard from residents during public workshops.

“The idea is if you get people coming and going there, you get something; it’s a quick win,” she said. “The plan is really supporting what the neighborhood or community wants.”

Seil said the after the news about the insurance, the neighborhood association is shifting gears and looking to create a walking trail through the back part of the property. Seil said the trail would be about a half-mile long and go from the ball field near the road back to the power lines at the back of the property.

Seil said they are envisioning a crushed gravel trail with benches at the far end and picnic tables near the field and said a trail has even more potential for the community as a whole than a dog park.

“Not everyone has a dog,” he said.

Seil said the neighborhood association hoped to apply next year for a city neighborhood grant for the trail.

Conkling said the city was most concerned with finding a short-term option to begin to build momentum in the community, whatever that turns out to be.

“But I wouldn’t write off the dog park yet,” she said.

A public hearing on the Benson Community Plan is scheduled for the July 17 Planning Commission meeting. A new version of the plan should be available for review on bensonplan.org next week.