Tentative Deal Keeps Court Lights Shielded : Accord Resolves Sherman Oaks Tennis Dispute

A dispute over tennis court lights at a luxury subdivision on a Sherman Oaks hilltop has been tentatively settled by neighboring homeowners and a developer, the two sides said Friday.

Specially shielded court lighting can stay behind two multimillion-dollar homes in the 14900 block of Mulholland Drive. But unshielded landscape lighting aimed at trees and shrubs will go.

The dispute had been viewed as precedent-setting by homeowners groups and tennis enthusiasts, who have frequently fought over the issue of backyard lights.

In recent years, officials in Los Angeles, Hidden Hills and other cities have refused to allow lighted tennis courts in areas where light or glare could spill into neighboring yards.

Homeowners living near the Sherman Oaks hilltop had demanded that the Mulholland Drive tennis court lights be torn down because they violated the eight-house subdivision’s original development agreement.

The tract permit, issued in 1981 by Los Angeles planning commissioners, specified that no tennis court lights be allowed.

Later, however, the city’s Department of Building and Safety mistakenly issued supplemental permits that allowed lights to be built at two backyard courts. The city’s Board of Referred Powers, a City Council panel, voted after that to revise the tract’s conditions and authorize use of the two lighted courts for a one-year period.

The Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. and a mountain-area environmental group called Mulholland Tomorrow protested, complaining that the lights were illegal, and their glare was disruptive.

The two groups successfully sued the city earlier this year in Los Angeles Superior Court to overturn the board action. They also asked the city to require the removal of the lights.

Developer Sheldon Appel countered by installing newly developed outdoor lighting fixtures that use deeply recessed bulbs and special lenses and shields that limit glare. He asked the city to allow their permanent use.

After nighttime tests two months ago for city planners, Sherman Oaks community leaders conceded that the lights were virtually invisible from outside the backyards. But they objected to reflections from the sides of the house.

The compromise was worked out before a planning commission meeting Thursday, at which time officials sided with homeowners.

Sheldon Sloan, Appel’s attorney, said the compromise will take effect when a technical dispute over lot lines in the tract is resolved.