Fountain Valley : Family Appeals Ruling Over Batting Cage

In an effort to keep his family’s back-yard baseball batting cage, William Hudson has appealed a Planning Commission ruling that the 12-foot-high, 68-foot-long enclosed cage must come down.

The aerospace engineer spent $1,100 to buy netting and build the cage earlier this year behind his Aster Circle home so that his eight children can hit baseballs, play catch and kick soccer balls without fear of lofting one over a neighbor’s fence or without having to play in the street.

The cage itself meets city building and safety standards, but the Planning Commission ruled, after several neighbors complained, that it is inappropriate for a neighborhood of single-family homes.

Hudson’s wife, Ellie, said the family decided to appeal the ruling after receiving more than two dozen telephone calls and letters urging the Hudsons to spend the $125 to appeal the case to the City Council. Several people sent money to help pay for the appeal, which was filed this week, she said. The council is expected to hear the matter sometime in October.

“We don’t know what our chances are, but we decided to take our situation to the council in hopes of winning,” Ellie Hudson said. “It’s for our own peace of mind.”