It’s time to turn off Kaiser lights

Nancy Buchanan

As a resident actively involved in the issue of portable lights at

Kaiser School, I am responding to the recent letters and commentary

in the Forum section of the Daily Pilot regarding that subject.

When my family and I moved here in 1998, we knew exactly what we

were getting -- a nice home in a wonderful neighborhood that backed

up to an elementary school.

We knew this would entail Saturday soccer games, baseball games

and recreation in general. We have no problem with this and deal with

the increased traffic, parking and noise as simply part of living in

this neighborhood.

We deal with the people climbing over our walls to retrieve lost

balls (without our permission), the broken windows, the cars blocking

our driveway. This is all part and parcel of living next to a school

with athletic fields.

When we first moved in, the fields were used only on Saturdays.

Over the years, as the interest and participation in sports has

increased, so has the usage of these fields.

Now we have practices every day after school from September to

June and games all day Saturday and Sunday. Again, this was part and

parcel of what we accepted when we moved in.

Nighttime lights, however, were not.

Two years ago, American Youth Soccer Organization Region 97

requested that Costa Mesa officials grant them permission to use

portable lights on Kaiser’s field. The residents were given no notice

of this and had no input. This use was not and is not part of the

city’s general plan, nor is it part of the Newport-Mesa Unified

School District’s plan. The site is a school yard, not a practice

field or a sports stadium.

In response to our objection to the lights, the city revised its

temporary lighting policy hoping that the changes would alleviate the

residents’ concerns. Sadly, it has not. Thus, at the March 23 meeting

of the Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission, the residents once

again voiced their concerns. The commission revised its policy in

such a way that balances the needs of the community for practice

fields and the concerns of the neighborhood residents.

Since there seems to be quite a bit of misinformation regarding

this issue, it would be useful to review the facts.

First, eliminating portable lights at Kaiser will not limit the

number of kids who can participate in youth sports. The temporary

lighting policy is still in place. Therefore, user groups are free to

apply for temporary lighting at any of the other fields within Costa

Mesa. Currently, only two fields within the city have portable

lighting -- Kaiser and Parsons field.

Second, the general season for AYSO runs through mid-November.

Thus, the majority of the time that the lights are used (October

through March) is for All-Star and Club team practices, and the

number of children participating is relatively small when compared

with the overall enrollment for the general season.

Even though the use of the lights is for only a few, select

children, the city has offered the use of lighted fields at Lions

Park or the Farm Sports Complex. Both offers were rejected by AYSO

Region 97, since they preferred the convenience of the Kaiser field.

If the issue of nighttime lighted fields is so important, given that

many of the children in AYSO Region 97 reside in Newport Beach, this

issue should also be raised with the city of Newport Beach and not

only with Costa Mesa.

One issue that has not been addressed, however, is safety. The

temporary lights at Kaiser do not result in a safe environment for

children. Twenty-first Street, which borders Kaiser, is dark, crowded

with parked cars and busy with residents coming and going. The other

major cross street, Tustin Avenue, borders the Lou Yantori branch of

the Boys and Girls Club, which also generates traffic and parking

issues, since it also has nighttime activities. Kaiser was not

designed for nighttime use -- there is no parking area, so cars must

stop for children in the street and double parking is not uncommon.

As for the lighting equipment, it wasn’t designed for this use

either. These lights are poorly maintained and are not properly

grounded when in use.

The Parks and Recreation Committee and parks and recreation staff

have given this matter careful consideration over the past two years

and have determined that Kaiser is not an appropriate venue for

portable lighting for the reasons that I have mentioned.

One Daily Pilot op/ed writer concluded with the statement: “We

share this planet with many other people and must often provide for

the greater good of all, setting aside our selfish interests.”

I wonder -- does this apply to the residents, or does it also

apply to coaches who wish to use Kaiser field simply because it is

more convenient?

* NANCY BUCHANAN is a Costa Mesa resident.