Dog Park Supporters Bite Back

It took a barrage of e-mails, endless news stories and constant criticism of a city government that appeared to ignore its people. But the KCMO parks board today reconsidered its ban of dog parks in residential areas.

Deb Hipp, the Waldo resident who’s been in charge of the effort to get an off-leash area in Sunnyside Park, said she thinks the vocal proponents of the park likely helped convince the board to reconsider. “They knew we weren’t going to go away,” Hipp says. “They knew they were going to be plagued by us forever.”

It’s unclear what happens next. The board promised to provide a public hearing for the Sunnyside dog park proposal. But it also discussed forming a task force to discuss rules regarding where dog parks should go. And when you’re talking creating a new task force, who knows how long it’ll take from here to make a final decision. — Eric Barton