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Neighborhood report
Two sides reach settlement in lawsuit over park dog run
By SHERRI DAY
Published November 4, 2005
PALMA CEIA PARK - The dog fight is finally over. Twelve residents who sued the city to close the dog run at Palma Ceia Playground and Park reached a final settlement agreement Monday.
Under the terms of the deal, the city will shorten the dog run's operating hours and finish renovating the dog run, which moved from the corner of Marti and San Nicholas streets closer to the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway.
The city also agreed to temporarily employ a security guard at the run from 5 p.m. until closing on weekdays. Once workers complete renovations, a video camera will replace the security guard. Visitors to the dog run must also abide by park rules, which include the prohibition of food and requires that dogs be at least 6 months old and not be in heat or left unattended.
The settlement, reached on Halloween, prompted Hillsborough Circuit Judge Charlotte Anderson to encourage the plaintiffs and their neighbors, many of whom had joined the lawsuit on the city's behalf, to make up and go trick-or-treating together.
"I do think this is going to bode well for the neighborhood," Anderson said of the settlement. "There's a better chance of everybody being neighborly again than it would have been had you taken it to trial."
[Last modified November 3, 2005, 08:47:07]
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