ANAHEIM : Residents Fight Park Expansion

At first glance, it might appear that the residents of Norman Avenue would celebrate if the city made the weed-infested lot at the end of their cul-de-sac a part of neighboring Boysen Park.

But as big a nightmare as the city-owned, 5.5-acre lot is with its broken glass, litter and transients, the prospect of having the park and an accompanying 28-space parking lot at the end of their street scares them even more.

Residents fear gangs will loiter in the park near their homes, that drug dealers will ply their trade in the secluded parking lot, and that the neighborhood will be congested with cars bringing players and spectators to the soccer field planned for the expansion.

“It’s a sad day that in the ‘90s a neighborhood would have to fight the expansion of a park,” said Richard Sakoguchi, who with his wife Kathy is leading residents’ protests that began in earnest earlier this month. “But the reality is parks are becoming violent places. We don’t need that here.”

More than 120 people from Norman Avenue and the surrounding neighborhood attended a recent community meeting to object to the $700,000 project, and some have threatened court action if the city proceeds.

The city, in response, has temporarily halted the project--work was to begin Tuesday--and appointed a committee of residents, the contractor, sports groups and school officials to devise a compromise within a month. The compromise will be considered by the parks commissioners, whose decision could be reviewed by the City Council.

Parks and Recreation Department officials were surprised by the negative reaction to the proposal. Fewer than 20 people attended public hearings on the project three years ago and no major opposition came forward. Officials admit, however, that the 1988 notice sent to residents mentioned only that the city was considering improving access to the park, and not that it might build a parking lot.

“The residents have some concerns that they are taking very seriously and we are listening very seriously,” said Jack Kudron, the Parks and Recreation Department’s planner. “We don’t want to build an expansion that the neighborhood doesn’t want.”

Kudron said that developing the lot has long been part of the city’s plan. He said the rest of Boysen Park, noted for its model jet plane along State College Boulevard, was built about 30 years ago. He guesses the lot wasn’t originally developed as part of Boysen because of pressure to build parks in other parts of the city.

Kudron admits that one gang already uses Boysen, “but that doesn’t mean it is not a safe park. It is one of our most heavily used parks and we have few incidents there.”

But the residents aren’t so sure.

“The Anaheim police do not patrol this area enough to control the gang problem,” Kathy Sakoguchi said.

Residents and city officials agree that the vacant lot, which is at the west end of Boysen, is an eyesore. It is full of tall weeds, with transients’ shabby blankets and sleeping bags strewn throughout, along with cans and paper bags. In 1981, a 16-year-old boy was electrocuted there as he tried to douse a grass fire caused by a downed power line.

Some residents say they would not object if grass were planted on the lot and it was made part of the park. But they oppose the soccer field, fearing noise, and especially the parking lot.

“It takes the bungling mind of a bureaucrat to envision a traffic plan that brings cars through eight blocks of a residential neighborhood to have them park in a lot behind a house,” said Bill Nelson, a four-year resident.

“If this was Anaheim Hills they wouldn’t be trying to pull this off. But because we are a mixed area, they don’t think we have any clout.”