Regulators Take a Shot at Portable Hoops

Somehow, somewhere, the thunk of a basketball on the street has turned ominous, litigious.

Look what happened, some say, when homeowners tried to get their kids back to old-fashioned play, the kind of pre-Nintendo, pre-Internet, pre-beeper fun that came from a hoop and a ball.

First, parents hammered basketball hoops atop garages, and homeowners associations said “no” to the unsightliness.

Then, families turned to basketball setups on wheels, with backboards and nets mounted on poles.

Now those portable setups are under fire.

At least three cities in Orange County--and a handful of others nationwide--have looked at ways to restrict portable hoops, possibly by keeping them off the streets after dark when drivers can’t easily see them. A Laguna Hills homeowners association is appealing a Superior Court decision that limits its authority to regulate basketball hoops. Irvine city officials have gone to the extent of mapping the locations of homeowners who don’t put away portable hoops, in an effort to gauge the problem.

Some parents wonder how life got to the point where a group of kids playing a pickup game of basketball has morphed into an evil of suburban street life, requiring authorities and regulators.

“They want kids to not be in trouble,” said Cathlyn Traughber, 40, whose three sons shoot baskets on a portable unit in front of their Irvine home, “but take every opportunity away for kids to have fun. . . . Who is it bothering?”

City leaders don’t want to be killjoys, said Cindy Greengold, a councilwoman in Laguna Hills, which is studying the issue of portable hoops. Rather, she said, they are worried about kids who, focused on the basket, ignore oncoming cars.

“I’m not out there trying . . . to bust kids for playing in the streets,” said Greengold, who looked into the issue after receiving a complaint. “But we don’t want to have people injured.”

Portable hoops are perhaps the latest, ephemeral manifestation of a changing way of life. Transitory families buy fold-up play units that pack up in a jiffy. Homeowners who used to chat over the backyard fence call on associations or city hall to go after neighbors they don’t know. Homeowners associations, along with city governments, are so worried about lawsuits that their reach extends to whether toys get left out overnight.

In efforts to keep neighborhoods safe, politicians and association officials can go too far, said Ronald E. Hughes, chairman of Cal State Fullerton’s sociology department.

“We are becoming more insensitive to the needs of children [because of] the bothersomeness of possibly being sued, or the concern of trouble as a result of someone getting hurt,” Hughes said.

The threat of litigation looms so large that one Orange County homeowners association struck first.

In 1992, Benjamin and Marcia Milchiker of Laguna Hills put a basketball hoop over their garage for their three sons. The Nellie Gail Ranch Owners Assn. asked the Milchikers to remove the hoop, which violates the homeowners association’s rules. The Milchikers declined, and the association filed suit.

“It’s probably . . . an aesthetic issue, to be absolutely truthful,” said C.J. Klug, Nellie Gail Ranch’s general manager.

The family removed the garage hoop and got a portable one. A neighbor complained, and the matter ended up in court again. In March 1996, a Superior Court judge ruled that the Milchikers could keep their hoop and ordered the association to pay the family $31,000 in legal fees. The association will file an appeal within the next couple months, Klug said.

Klug said he does not know how much the association has spent in the legal battle against the Milchikers, who did not return calls for comment. Because the association has no authority to fine residents, its only recourse is to sue when mediation fails, he said.

Nationwide, as portable hoops become more popular, a handful of cities and homeowners associations are contemplating what to do about the units, according to the Community Associations Institute, a national organization for condominium and homeowner associations. The setups can weigh more than 400 pounds and cost from about $200 to $400.

In August in the Northern California city of Rocklin, the City Council voted to approve an ordinance that, in effect, requires residents to keep portable basketball units off streets and sidewalks at night. Code enforcement officers will issue warnings and notices for initial violations; repeat offenders are subject to fines of up to $100, said City Manager Carlos Urrutia.

In Orange County, the La Habra City Council considered a similar ordinance two years ago, city officials said. Instead, the city relies on code-enforcement officials to warn residents about the ban on leaving sports equipment and other property in the public right of way.

In Laguna Hills, city officials said they want to make residents more aware of the safety hazards of portable hoops. Some put them away from street lights that can get in the way of high-flying balls. One idea, said Councilman L. Allan Songstad Jr., is to pass an ordinance requiring people to put away portable units after dark. Songstad wants city staff to come up with other options.

“What are we going to do, have people go around like parking meter [officers] and tag them? It seemed like a real enforcement problem.

“The goal was for staff to try to come up with something that would be more accommodating but still have some teeth in it,” Songstad said.

Other cities, including Irvine, are thinking about a public information campaign on the issue. City officials, for instance, may send letters to residents, reminding them of existing city codes that prohibit leaving basketball setups and other property in the streets.

Irvine officials looked at the issue in response to complaints from residents whose streets weren’t getting swept because the portable hoops were in the way, said Skip Tracy, public works superintendent. One recent week, street-sweeper operators noted that nearly 100 portable units had been left on the roads.

“We don’t want to hamper the play . . . of the kids,” Tracy said. “We understand the parents want to have the kids in sight. What we’re really asking is when they’re done playing, can they remove the basketball hoops from the right of way.”

On a recent afternoon in Irvine, Ryan Reid, 15, warmed up for hoops by throwing a soccer ball around with a friend. Ryan, whose portable basketball unit was set up in front of his house, said he didn’t understand the fuss.

“They have to make laws,” he said. “But there are a lot more important things than portable basketball hoops.”

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Irvine’s Basketball Diaries

In an effort to gauge the need for stricter regulations, Irvine officials have mapped the 77 portable basketballhoops in the city.

Source: Irvine Community Development Department