BREA : Tennis Court Site Changes Proposed

Basketball courts at a school run by Christ Lutheran Church would be moved away from neighbors and fenced under a proposal by the Planning Commission.

In response to a resident’s complaints of excessive noise, the commission recommended changes to the courts at 820 W. Imperial Highway, where the church has an elementary and junior high school.

The plan would move the courts onto the church’s parking lot, fence them and reduce one of the two courts to a half-court to preserve parking space.

Church school principal Larry Lebrecht conceded that the courts were built last summer at a site different than the one approved in 1982 but said safety considerations dictated the change. He said the original location was next to Imperial Highway, where children might run into the street for balls.

Lebrecht said he could agree with all the planning staff’s recommendations except for the one cutting the size of the second court in half.

Commissioner Carl Clausen said: “I like the church’s program . . . However, the whole layout was done under certain conditions, and one was that property owners would have certain kinds of peace to enjoy.”

The Planning Commission’s decision can be appealed to the City Council within the next 10 days.