The city of Pleasanton is looking to put rules and regulations in writing regarding sports courts in people’s back yards. Things such as basketball hoops in a front driveway or backyard are a common sight in neighborhoods here.
According to city planners, most areas of the city don’t have specific court regulations, or have vague ones at best. After comparing what other cities have for rules, including Lafayette, La Canada, Flintridge, Yorba Linda and Santa Barbara, the city drafted language that would clarify the existing regulations, ensure that sport courts can be approved quickly and administratively and make sure they have a minimal impact to neighbors and the environment. The planned communities of Kottinger Ranch, Ruby Hill and homes in the Vineyard Avenue Corridor Specific Plan already have their own rules pertaining to sports courts.
One resident who attended the Dec. 29 Planning Commission meeting on the item said his neighbor has a basketball hoop that invades his privacy and blocks his views from his home–a common concern that has been voiced to the city.
The sports court regulations affect permanent equipment such as tennis, basketball and racquetball courts in private residences; not the commonly seen portable basketball hoops in front yards. Hoops located above a garage or in the front yar are allowed and an application won’t be required to play sports between the front property line and the equipment, according to a staff report.
Looking to the city’s parks regulations, permanent courts with lights must turn off electricity at 10 p.m. The lights are allowed to spread up to a 5-foot candle of light onto adjacent residential properties.
The staff report pertains only to residential sports courts, not those in parks. As proposed in the report, any resident who wants to build a sports court in their backyard must fill out an application with the city. If they plan to install lighting to a personal court, they will also be required to submit a photometric foot candle diagram demonstrating that no light will shine onto the surface of neighboring properties. Lighting would be required to be turned off between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. and cannot be taller than 15 feet.
The commission plans to review these rules and regulations at a future meeting before anything is set in stone.
