Sunnyside omitted from list of dog park sites

Rejecting the recommendation of a task force, Kansas City parks officials left Sunnyside Park in Waldo off of a list of possible sites for new dog parks.

Kansas City Parks and Recreation staff came up with the list and presented it to the board on Tuesday. Thirteen possible locations throughout the city’s six council districts were identified.

The staff report infuriated Deb Hipp and the members of Well-Organized Off-Leash Friends (WOOF). Hipp has promoted Sunnyside Park as a sensible place to allow dogs to scamper and sniff since 2006. WOOF raised money and even hired an architect to develop a site plan. “You’re doing everything you can to stand in our way,” Hipp, a former Pitch writer, complained at Tuesday’s meeting.

A Dog Park Task Force, appointed in 2007, shared WOOF’s enthusiasm for Sunnyside, determining the park to be the ideal location among the parks south of 31st Street.

Parks officials omitted from Sunnyside from its list of favorable locations primarily because it could not accommodate a dog park fives acres in size. (The WOOF plan calls for a 3.45-acre dog area in Sunnyside.)