MISSION VIEJO : School’s Neighbors Attack Hockey Plan

A year ago, Catherine Ortiz thought that plans for outdoor roller hockey rinks at Los Alisos Intermediate School were dead, a victim of heavy criticism from herself and dozens of neighbors.

Then Ortiz perused a youth sports schedule recently mailed out by the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. And there she saw it: Sign-ups for the 1994 fall season were underway--with games to be held at the school.

Ortiz became furious, as did others who live close to the school and complain that such youth sports as football and soccer have already turned their neighborhood into a weekend parking fiasco, complete with an invasion of litter and noise.

It turns out that although administrators last year shelved plans to convert tennis courts into outdoor hockey rinks at Los Alisos, the idea was resurrected when no other location could be found for the games.

Tuesday night, Ortiz, joined by other homeowners, scolded school district trustees.

“We are not against kids, we are not against children,” Ortiz told trustees. “This is about preserving peace and quiet.”

Trustees said they will seek alternative locations but stopped short of killing plans to allow hockey on the school’s tennis courts. For months, the district has been looking unsuccessfully at other potential sites.

Trustees on Tuesday also hired a consultant to conduct a noise study at Los Alisos Intermediate School because of complaints.

Ortiz, whose house is 29 feet from tennis courts being considered for conversion to outdoor hockey rinks, said the noise from youths slapping pucks against chain-link fencing, handball courts or whatever would be an intrusion.

Lynn Coons, member of a nearby homeowner association, agreed.

Coons also complained about portable toilets used in the past by some youth sports programs.

“If you like the smell, you’re welcome to it, but frankly, we are sick of it,” Coons told trustees.

Trustees pledged to remedy problems outlined by residents.

Elaine Carter, the school district’s spokeswoman, said Wednesday that a Sept. 22 meeting has been set up for residents to speak with the district’s Recreation Advisory Commission about roller hockey concerns.

“The position of the district is--first and foremost--we want to be good neighbors, and we will do everything to address (residents’) needs,” Carter said.

Candice Fullenkamp, district recreation director, said the staff is “100% committed” to finding a different location than Los Alisos for the roller hockey games.