California Residents Oppose Sports Park Plan for Their Neighborhood, Saying They Will Sue to Keep Space Open

PUBLICATION: Ventura County Star
SECTION: News; Pg. A03
BYLINE: Billie Owens
DATELINE: Westlake Village, California
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Valerie Freedman, organizer, Neighborhood Preservation Group; Scott Yanke, resident; Ronald Burnett, president, Westlake Canyon Oaks Homeowners Association

The Ventura County Star reports that residents of Westlake Canyon Oaks in Westlake Village, California don't want a sports park built on 41 undeveloped acres near their homes. The article says village officials are considering a proposal to build a $4 million sports park on 28 acres of land that is currently zoned as open space. Residents say they are prepared to bring a lawsuit over the issue.

According to the article, the sports park is proposed for a privately owned parcel called lot 79, which is north of Hedgewall and Landino drives and bisected by Lindero Canyon Road. On the east side of Lindero Canyon Road, the park would include two ball fields, a tot lot, restrooms, and parking for 120 cars. On the west side of Lindero Canyon Road, it would include two more ball fields, four combination basketball/roller hockey courts, restrooms, a concession stand, a tot lot, and parking for 195 cars. In addition, the park would include berms to shield residential developments from noise. According to a draft environmental impact report prepared for the project, the traffic, light, and noise pollution from the project could be mitigated to some extent, but their cumulative impacts would be significant.

Proponents of the plan say the park would provide a place for recreation for the community. Residents now have to travel to neighboring communities for similar recreation fields, the article says.

But residents living in nearby neighborhoods say that development of any kind on the land would be a mistake, and a sports park would bring crime, noise, and traffic, the article reports. Valerie Freedman, a resident who helped organize the Neighborhood Preservation Group to fight the proposal, said, "We are absolutely prepared to litigate." Ronald Burnett, president of the Westlake Canyon Oaks Homeowners Association, said, "As a homeowner, I don't think lot 79 is the appropriate location for a sports park. Traffic is already terrible. We're getting over-developed. It's becoming like San Fernando Valley." Freedman said the project is commercially motivated because some teams would be paying to use the baseball fields. In addition, she said, a sports park that straddles a main road is dangerous for children. Freedman said she supports an alternative site for the park on undeveloped land in Westlake North, near the Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park. The draft environmental impact report examined that site as an alternative, but said it would be more expensive. Freedman, however, is unconcerned about that point. "In the face of a lawsuit, I think this option would actually be cheaper," she said.