I was more than a little surprised, in reading the fresh lawsuit by neighbors of the recreation area in Stonington borough known as a dog park, that they are seeking damages from the town for possible devaluation of their property.

Actually, the owners of the waterfront house at 13 Front St., year-round residents of Nashville, Tenn., are demanding a lot of things.

First, they are asking in their lawsuit against the town that the court take immediate steps to stop the town from using the area in question as a dog park. That requested court order seems unlikely.

Second, they ask the court to make the town go through "appropriate municipal channels" — namely seeking zoning and site plan approvals — to make it an official dog park.

Finally, if the town does what they are asking, and makes it an official dog park, with rules and regulations, they want money for the devaluation in their property value that may result "if a dog park is built and sanctioned by the defendants."

I know. I know. It's crazy. Make it a dog park, they demand, and then compensate us for the lost value of our property that might occur as a result.

They also want other monetary damages, including the cost of their legal fees.

This is of course a wildly unneighborly gesture, the filing of a lawsuit against the community by people who bought some property here last year. Of course, in this case the lawsuit seems especially absurd.

After all, the plaintiffs in this case, a respected economist and successful lawyer, presumably are not stupid.

But who would pay almost a million dollars for a property and not check out what was up with that vacant space immediately next door, the area fenced in and equipped with benches and, excuse me, dog poop baggie dispensers.

At a glance, back in 2014 when the plaintiffs bought their property, it was clear to anyone just wandering by what the adjacent land was used for, never mind people about to invest almost $1 million. There is rarely a time when there aren't some dogs around.

Indeed, the plaintiffs once told me they sent their Realtor to Town Hall to find out what was up with the property next door.

There were red flags on the deal before the plaintiffs ever signed the sales contract. But, buyers beware, sign they did.

I am no real estate expert, but I am quite sure a large house on the harbor in Stonington borough is probably a bargain at the $900,000 the plaintiffs paid for it. It is even less than the town's own appraised value of $1,081,800.

No doubt the dog park and, even more important, the adjacent municipal sewage plant played a factor in making the plaintiffs' house at 13 Front St. worth less money at the time they bought it.

The open lawn now being used by dogs and their owners is actually land held in reserve in the event the sewage plant needs to expand.

Owning property next to a big sewage plant, one that might get bigger, is a drag on property values, even in a cute place like Stonington borough.

Another thing I found offensive about the lawsuit is that it was disclosed the week before town voters went to vote for a new selectman.

This might have been a coincidence, except the lawsuit is specifically political, with the plaintiffs directly complaining about how they were treated by the first selectman then running to keep his job.

The selectman lost, probably not just because of complaints about the way he handled the dog park controversy. Still, I hope he didn't lose many votes over it.

Let's hope the new administration is not impressed by the election-eve timing of the lawsuit.

I think townspeople, who must shoulder the cost of defending their use of the sewage plant expansion zone for dog recreation, should consider some community activism of their own.

Maybe dog park enthusiasts could raise some money to allow the town to build a big row of tall evergreen trees along the northern border of the sewage expansion property.

It would limit south light and water views for the sewage park neighbors. But it would create a buffer for the dog recreation that goes on there.

Call it a neighborly gesture.

This is the opinion of David Collins.

d.collins@theday.com

Twitter: @DavidCollinsct