Volleyball courts to be monitored by City Hall
SM BEACH — For those who live on the beach, the sport of volleyball isn’t usually considered evil.
But it’s turned out that way for Stephen Meadows. When he bought a house here last March, he thought he’d moved into a paradise. But as the weather warmed up, Meadows and his family quickly realized their new home came with a nuisance — volleyball players.
They played as late as 11 p.m., capitalizing on Meadows’ security lights at his home, located 30 feet away. What really bothered Meadows was the heated words the players had with each other, which often were rife with obscenities.
“Last summer it was a bit of a challenge to kind of define proper social behavior (for our children) when their overall exposure, on a daily basis, (was) to this kind of language,” Meadows told City Council members last week.
Meadows ended up in front of the City Council after spending several months lobbying staffers at City Hall to have the courts moved farther away from his house just north of Montana Avenue off of the Pacific Coast Highway. He gathered signatures from his neighbors, made calls and wrote letters. But in the end, he was denied.
That’s because the courts have been in that area for 40 years, staffers said, adding that many of the current players have been using them for 20 years. Moving the courts to the other side of the bike path would mean disrupting history — and losing important wind protection, players said.
The debate turned into a volley of comments amongst City Council members on the dais. Meadows offered to draft plans to have the courts moved and to pay for the work. Under that scenario, four volleyball courts on the west side of the bike path near his home would join eight on the east side. But opposition was strong.
“There’s really a cool vibe of people just hanging out there,” said City Councilman Mike Feinstein, who said he’s skated through the area on the bike path since 1982. “We’ve created a little mini environment, in the middle of the great Gobi Desert there.”
“We’ve created a little mini environment, in the middle of the great Gobi Desert there.” — – MIKE FEINSTEIN Santa Monica City Councilman
While Feinstein and some other members of the City Council were against the move, others supported Meadows and said there’s no reason to make Meadows suffer.
“I can just imagine how annoying it would be to be just a few feet away from this thing, on your property and hearing what’s going on,” City Councilman Bob Holbrook said. “I mean, people get excited when they’re playing ball — no matter what the sport is.”
In the end, City Councilman Ken Genser, who hoped to move the courts but realized there weren’t enough votes, made a motion that City Hall staffers review other locations. In order to compromise with those that opposed any action, Genser agreed to wait another year to let City Hall workers monitor the situation and see if the players improve their behavior.
Holbrook took issue with that idea. “Am I crazy? Do you send people out there to police volleyball games?” he asked staff.
Barbara Stinchfield, director of community and cultural services, said periodic checks during pilot programs, like with new dog parks, are commonplace and effective. Though no volleyball players spoke at the meeting, Stinchfield said workers from her department had met with them and they were adamant about preserving the courts.
“What they report to us is moving the courts further west gave a lot of winds and really effects their playing conditions,” Stinchfield said, later adding, “These are very historical courts that I assume are popular because of their location.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 19, 2004. Read the original PDF.