SOMERSET — The Board of Selectmen said last night it would be OK if part of Buffington Park goes to the dogs, but they insisted that canine lovers who want a leash-free dog park there will need to raise their own money for a 6-foot-high fence.

The town, they said, can’t afford to pay for it. Even if the money is raised immediately, the area won’t be cordoned off immediately.

Chairman Patrick O’Neil and the other selectmen said they wanted to adopt rules to make the location safe and require owners to pick up after their animals. If dog owners don’t keep the site clean, “I would shut it down right away,” said O’Neil.

Although the selectmen made it clear they would not pay for a fence unless the town already has some leftover fencing material hanging around, they said the town would be glad to contribute labor to erect it.

The dog fanciers requested the park after the town set aside the upper portion of Pierce Beach Park so owners could be free to walk their animals, if leashed.

But dogs have more fun, and become more sociable, if they have an area where they can run free and interact with other dogs, park advocates say. They recommended using the northwestern portion of the little-used park, an area with plenty of trees and rocks. Part of the boundary is already fenced.

“I’m a little lukewarm on that area, but I think we will go with it. It’s pretty isolated,” said O’Neil.

A major unresolved question is the cost of the fence. Selectman Eleanor Gagnon said a low-maintenance black vinyl fence would probably cost $1,500 to $2,000.

Selectman William P. Meehan expressed doubt. The area would probably need 500 or 600 feet of fencing, he said. “I just put a fence around my pool. One hundred feet was $2,500, and that’s four feet high.”

The dog fence would have to be 6 feet high to prevent larger animals from leaping over it.

Meehan acknowledged that the price he received included installation.

In other business, the board voted to send a computer-generated zoning map to the Nov. 27 Special Town Meeting for voter approval. If residents endorse it, the digitized map would replace the hard-to-read map passed by voters in 1963 and amended dozens of times since.

Gagnon objected, saying that too many properties in town no longer conform to their zoning and any new map should reflect the reality of how those discrepant parcels are actually used.

Town Administrator John McAuliffe said the new map is designed to make it easier to determine zoning boundaries. He said it accurately reflects current zoning rules in town.

Some residents who are in Massachusetts Land Court trying to block construction of a Walgreens drug store at West County and Buffington streets asked the selectmen to delay approval of the map until a decision, expected at any moment, is rendered in their case.

Instead, the selectmen agreed to language that would change the zoning map to conform to whatever decision Judge Keith Long ultimately reaches.