Council to vote on park

Newport Beach residents who worry plans for new city sports fields will cause constant noise and traffic outside their backdoors are expected at Tuesday’s City Council meeting to face off with soccer parents who want more space for children’s sports teams in the city.

The council is slated to vote to approve plans for Sunset Ridge Park at West Coast Highway and Superior Avenue. Plans include a baseball diamond and two soccer fields that sports organizers say the city desperately needs. City documents indicate there is a shortage of sports fields in the city, and the clash between residents and local sports advocates is a symptom of the larger problem.

Newport Crest condominium complex residents believe the soccer fields and baseball diamond will create nonstop noise and traffic just feet away from their backdoors. Many of the neighbors have homes that overlook Sunset Ridge, and park designers have already pushed back plans for sports fields farther away from the condos to accommodate residents’ concerns. Youth baseball and soccer organizers both want field space on Sunset Ridge’s 13.67 acres. Current plans include two soccer fields with an overlapping baseball diamond to get the most use out of space.

“This will mean more noise more often,” said Newport Crest resident Ginny Lombardi, whose home overlooks Sunset Ridge. “Soccer is even more noisier than baseball and the noise issue has not really been addressed.”

Newport Crest residents say they want plans for a quieter park that would include fewer sports fields and more walking trails and landscaping.

The local parents group Soccer Families 4 Newport Fields has lobbied the city for more soccer fields. The group claims more children in Newport Beach play soccer than all other youth sports combined. The growing popularity means teams need more space for practices and games.

Currently, Newport Beach has 22 sports fields it allocates by permit to youth and adult sports organizations. Local sports groups also work with Newport-Mesa Unified School District to use school district athletic fields.

“We hope Sunset Ridge will becomes an active park, but if they choose to make it a multi-use park, we hope the city will try to accommodate us,” said Jeff Braun, regional commissioner of AYSO Region 97 and Soccer Families 4 Newport Fields organizer.

Newport lacks enough park space for all of its residents, according to city documents. A June 2005 city analysis of park land found Newport needed 38.8 more acres of park and beach space to adequately accommodate its population of about 83,000 residents.

West Newport, including the neighborhood around Sunset Ridge, is particularly short on sports fields, Mayor Ed Selich said.

The west side of the city was the first part of Newport to be developed, and planners lacked the foresight to develop enough parks and playing fields, Selich said. The problem is compounded by the high cost of land in Newport Beach, he said.

“Land is getting more and more expensive every year,” Selich said.

The city is looking at a variety of ways to solve the problem, including partnering with nearby Costa Mesa to build more fields, he said.

Newport Beach and Costa Mesa officials have discussed working with the Newport-Mesa Unified School District to develop a shared sports field on a vacant school district-owned site off 15th Street, but talks are only in the preliminary stages, Selich said.

But the city needs more field space sooner rather than later, Braun said.

“I’ve heard rumblings, but I’m not optimistic,” Braun said. “Even if that does come to fruition, it would be years down the road.”

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.