Park sports benched

COSTA MESA — Paularino Park patrons entering from the north or south end will now see signs warning them active team sports such as football or soccer are not allowed. But what’s more likely to deter people are the obstacles.

City workers on Wednesday moved four large boulders into a grassy area of the park, next week two large trees will be put in on the Cheyenne Street side, and more than 30 trees will be planted all over the park next weekend.

The changes came after some park neighbors in Mesa North complained that soccer games disrupt quiet park enjoyment for people with small children. They argued the park is too small for team games.

At least one resident, Martin Millard, has publicly urged the City Council for several years to stop team sports at Paularino Park. The issue was brought to the parks commission but didn’t get any traction until earlier this year, city recreation director Jana Ransom said.

“It seemed like we were just hearing from one person, and we’re not going to change policy for one person,” she said.

That changed recently. Other residents, particularly in the Mesa North Community Assn., said at a public meeting in May they wanted the park to be passive.

But some of the people using the park Wednesday seemed unaware of the conflict over soccer and other sports.

Maryam Parsi, who brings her three children to the park after school, said she saw people playing soccer there only once and added, “Why shouldn’t they? It’s a park.”

Janie Reiter, who brought her two small sons to the park to use the tot lot, said the trees and boulders were a good idea, because she thinks of Paularino as a neighborhood park.

“It didn’t bother me, to a certain extent,” she said of the active sports. “But it doesn’t look like a big-enough area, with the sidewalk and kids walking.”

Ransom said she’s heard no feedback since the signs went up in September, possibly because it’s getting dark too early for people to have sports matches after their workday.

“The problem activities are not taking place, and that’s pretty much the case from October until mid-April,” she said. “We don’t see a lot of adult soccer play in our parks after 6 o’clock because it’s too dark.”

The taxpayer cost of the changes seems negligible.

City officials said the signs were made in-house, the boulders came from another city park, the trees were from the city’s existing inventory, and city crews have done the installation so far.

On Oct. 27, about 30 trees will be planted by an Eagle scout and helpers as part of the “Great Clean Air Tree Planting Project,” in which cities across Southern California will participate, city arborist Dean Rodia said.

TIMELINE

Questions about whether active sports should be allowed at Costa Mesa’s Paularino Park have been resolved.

Here are a few important dates in the progression of the issue.

October 2005: Costa Mesa City Council asks parks commission to look into complaints about active team sports in the park.

July 2006: Parks commission votes to talk with residents about what uses are appropriate for the park.

May 2007: Park neighbors say at a public meeting they’d like the park to be passive.

July 2007: Costa Mesa City Council votes to ban active sports at the park.

September 2007: Signs prohibiting “team sporting activity” are installed.

ALICIA ROBINSON may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at alicia.robinson@latimes.com.