PLACENTIA : Residents, City Square Off Over Baseball Diamond

A group of new homeowners are angry that a planned neighborhood park is turning into a Pony League baseball stadium within home-run range of their back yards.

The city is building a $2.8-million sports complex at Alta Vista and Jefferson streets, next to a new residential development on Garten Drive.

The Garten Drive residents have held two meetings with city officials to express concern about noise, traffic and safety. They said they were told nothing about a sports complex when they purchased their homes.

“We were told that it would be a beautiful park,” Steve Rudisel told City Council members Tuesday night.

Rudisel and other residents are urging the city to move the planned Pony League baseball field from the southwest to the southeast corner of the complex, farther away from their homes. They are also concerned that stray baseballs from the field will land in a “tot lot” planned next to the sports complex.

“The city is constructing a deathtrap for innocent toddlers and young children,” said Garten Drive resident Glenn Weeks.

City Recreation and Human Services Director Jim Soto said that moving the field would put the sun in the eyes of batters, increasing their chances of injury. He said the city may install fencing that would shield the tot lot from stray balls.

“We are working with the residents to solve these problems,” Soto said. “We’re just too far along with the project to move the field.”

City Administrator Robert D’Amato said operating hours at the park would be limited to 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. to cut down on neighborhood noise and traffic. He said the city may also plant more trees to block the playing field from nearby homes.