Restrictions on Dogs Will be Dropped by Kittery Council at Fort Foster and Seapoint Beach

They say you can’t fight City Hall but a group of residents in Kittery, Maine, seem to have taken on City Hall and obtained at least a partial victory.

In a grassroots campaign against dog restrictions at Fort Foster and Seapoint Beach which involved yard signs, social media, and tons of emails to city councilors, according to reporting by seacoastonline.com, the community got some attention from City Council.

The proposed restrictions would not permit dogs at Fort Foster from 10 am to 4:30 pm year-round and would only allow dogs on a leash from 4:30 pm until park closing time May 15 till October 15, the article stated.

The proposal for Seapoint Beach would not allow dogs from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm May 15 till October 15 with leash requirements from 4;30 to 11 pm May 15 till October 15, Seacoastonline.com stated  This also included a provision that dogs would be required to be on-leash at Rogers Park, according to seacoastonline.com.

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, emergency orders are in place that all dogs must be kept on-leash at all town parks.

This restriction does make sense to me.  My dog Apollo can take a liking to a stranger and it is hard to get him back without approaching someone and invading their space.

Council Chair Judy Spiller has proposed that changes to the ordinance could move forward if the most contentious parts were removed.

According to seacoastonline.com, Spiller says, “My argument for doing that is there are somethings in this ordinance that are actually very beneficial.  One deals with requiring people to collect and secure dog feces.  Another deals with disturbing the peace.  Another is feral cats.”

The Town councilors have proposed a Zoom public hearing on those issues which would allow for community input.