A dog park in Northern California that opened to much fanfare in August, only to be closed less than six months later, is now set to reopen.

Public officials say that the Los Gatos Creek off-leash dog park, which was shut on Jan. 16, will reopen by May 12. The park originally opened last summer after three years of planning and construction. After several months of use, Santa Clara County parks officials closed it, upon realizing that several things had been overlooked in planning the park.

During the time it was open, dogs dug into the parks wood chip surface and yanked up the netting underneath. Also, the grassy turf area of the run was destroyed by overuse.

In a review during the closure, officials decided to replace the wood chips with granite-like paving, and to reseed the grassy areas. Also, the park will now close on rainy days and up to several days afterward, to allow the turf to dry.

Additionally, the park will be closed for maintenance one day every week on a day still to be determined.

The one-acre off-leash dog park in Campbell is a joint venture between the cities of Los Gatos and Campbell, and Santa Clara County. The two cities paid to build the park, and the county parks department maintains it.

Posted: May 2, 2006, 5 a.m. EST