Off-leash dog owners at Alston Park are again flexing their political muscle, seeking to have virtually the entire park set aside for pooches who want to roam unfettered.

Early last week, canine activist Bob Robeson delivered signatures from 780 park users to City Hall, asking that Alston be declared a dog park where leashes would no longer be required.

Dogs are currently allowed off leash on only 26 of the park’s 158 acres, yet dog owners represent the vast majority of humans who use Alston, Robeson said.

“What is wrong with this picture?” Robeson said in a letter to the editor. Changing the rules would allow dog owners to use the total park without fear of getting a ticket, he said.

Those who are wary of off-leash dogs, be they hikers, runners, cyclists or equestrians, can move to another park, Robeson said.

This aggressive stance has rekindled a long-standing turf battle at Alston, where users of different recreational persuasions have been jockeying for dominance for years.

Who wants to risk being knocked over, sniffed up or worse by a dog that isn’t under its owner’s control, say many park visitors who don’t have dogs.

Less visible in this debate are locals who no longer use Alston because of the unpredictability of dog encounters, said Trudy Brutsche, a dog-owning regular at Alston who sees room for compromise.

“Some people just aren’t comfortable with dogs and they don’t go to the park,” Brutsche said. Perhaps a fence could be built, dividing Alston 50-50 into dog/non-dog areas, she said.

“I stopped going because I was afraid of so-called friendly dogs,” said Chris Stevens, a Napa resident who kept her two dogs on leash while hiking Alston.

On June 11, the Alston dispute will be heard by the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission. Ultimately, it will be up to the City Council to decide if off-leash areas should be expanded.

Trying to get dog owners to follow today’s rules is like shoveling back the tide, said Napa Police Officer Brent Potter, who has been patrolling the park off and on for more than five years.

During a 2002 crackdown, Potter issued both warnings and citations to dozens of owners who had strayed beyond the off-leash areas. Now he’s at it again, having written 37 citations in recent weeks. Police are responding to an upswing in public complaints, he said.

“It’s not a dog park. It’s a multi-use park,” Potter said. Yet when handed an $88 ticket, many owners insist “my dog is not a problem. Why am I getting a ticket?”

Some owners “flat out tell you they’re not going to comply,” Potter said.

Compliance improved in May, but it’s still a long way from what it should be, Potter said. Until off-leash dog owners shape up, his orders are to keep writing tickets, he said.

On a recent weekday morning, dog owners were the primary users of Alston. Some, such as Susan Burchill, said they were obeying the leash law only because they had heard of the police crackdown.

David Barker, another Alston regular, was defiant. He would continue to hike all of Alston with both of his dogs off leash, he said. “We don’t see people with bad dogs up here,” he said.

Officer Potter said he was not personally aware of any ugly dog incidents, but they can happen and not be reported, he said.

Although 90 percent of Alston users have dogs, Carlos Galantino said he would be willing to share the park if off-leash areas were “at least doubled in size.”

“I kind of enjoy seeing the dogs frolicking out there,” said Susan Castner, who was walking without canine company. Yet she is “conflicted,” she said.

When small dogs jump on her, “That’s when I go, ‘OK, I wish there were a leash law.’”

Peter Shangler, owner of an off-leash German shepherd, said leashes made dogs more edgy and aggressive. “Without a leash, she can be more herself,” he said.

In a letter to City Manager Mike Parness, Robeson suggested that the city create a small leashed area along Dry Creek Road, where people averse to dog encounters could congregate. Off-leash dogs would have the rest of the park.

Senior citizens, mothers pushing strollers and kids on bikes could use the flat zone along Dry Creek Road if they wanted to avoid dogs, he said.

Napans own an estimated 25,000 dogs, yet they are pariahs at most parks, Robeson said. These dogs deserve a home at Alston, he said.

If Alston became an off-leash park, the city could assign policing to volunteers, Robeson said. Volunteers could test dogs for off-leash suitability before issuing an off-leash permit, he said. Most owners would be willing to pay $30 a year, he said.

Brutsche said she doubted that self-policing would work. When she tried to improve leash law compliance this spring, hostile forces tore her signs down, she said. Dog owners in the moderate camp were “cussed out,” she said.

Larry Mazzuca, director of the city’s Community Resources Department, hopes to go into next month’s public hearing armed with results of a city survey of park users.

Surveys available at the park and at the city’s Web site ask people why they go to Alston, their opinion of current uses and whether off-leash areas are adequate.

There is a broad spectrum of opinions about how Alston should be used, even among dog owners, Mazzuca said.

It’s ironic that some users want more than 26 acres for off-leash, Mazzuca said. “I  challenge you to find any community in Northern California with more acreage devoted to dogs,” he said. “Is it fair that we should have a 160-acre park just for dogs?”

To fill out a survey online, go to www.cityofnapa.org, click on “For Residents,” then “City Departments,” then “Community Resources,” then “parks.”

The city acquired Alston in 1978 for $300,000. At the time, city officials envisioned a lighted baseball complex there.

Several attempts to develop ball fields were beaten back by locals who said the rolling hills and expansive spaces at Alston were best left in their natural condition.

In time, dog owners discovered the charms of Alston. As their numbers grew, the city created a two-acre pen for off-leash pets.

In 1999, reacting to citizen complaints, police cracked down on off-leash dogs. Dog owners held a protest rally outside City Hall.

The City Council forged a temporary peace in 2000, setting aside another 24 acres for off-leash dogs. Two years later, Police Chief Dan Monez declared that the compromise wasn’t working and ordered his officers to write tickets for violators.

Six years later, Rich Melton, the current chief, authorized another crackdown.

And so the debate continues.