Ojai : Ball Games Moved After Complaints

The Ojai Unified School District board of trustees has negotiated a compromise between two groups of residents who have argued for weeks over a youth baseball field.

The squabble over the use of baseball fields at Nordhoff High School pitted parents of Pony League baseball players against homeowners who live near the school, around La Paz Drive and Taormina Lane.

Homeowners have been threatening to sue the district over a baseball field constructed earlier this year by the Pony League on school district property. The homeowners said their quality of life has suffered from noise generated during games and foul balls hit into their yards.

The terms of the compromise, reached in a meeting mediated by Supt. Andrew C. Smidt earlier this month, suspends all play on the Bronco field for the remainder of the season and moves scheduled games to other site at Nordhoff High, said Assistant Supt. Leo Molitor. Other terms of the compromise called for the district to lower the height of the backstop on the Bronco field and mandated that an environmental impact assessment of the field be conducted, Molitor said.

While the homeowners agreed to accept the compromise, their official representative said that noise generated by baseball games at the adjacent Nordhoff High field is still a major concern.

Parents of the baseball players said the field was desperately needed because there are few places for youths to gather in Ojai.

The district will continue seeking a permanent solution, Molitor said.