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Hermosa commissioners press staff for plan to restore limited hoops at Clark Field after liability review
Summary
Risk staff told the commission the small west-side Clark Field courts present increased liability due to narrow buffers and nearby hard surfaces; residents and youth clubs urged retaining kid-height hoops, and the commission asked staff to return in March with a mitigation and reinstallation plan.
The Parks & Recreation Commission heard a risk-manager assessment on the nonstandard basketball hoops west of Clark Field and directed staff to return in March with options to restore limited kid-focused hoops and mitigation measures.
Acting Risk Program Manager Boyd Horan told the commission the site is constrained: retaining walls and a ball-field fence sit within a few feet of play areas, buffer zones are below best-practice dimensions, and resurfacing alone would not address collision or pedestrian-conflict hazards. He cited provisions of state law (Government Code section 835 and Gov. Code 831.7) that can limit public-entity liability for hazardous recreational activities but warned immunity has exceptions where a city "knew or reasonably should have known" of a dangerous condition or if the design materially increases risk. "If you're looking to eliminate liability, yes," Horan said, "removal [of backboards] would be the best way to eliminate your risk."
Public commenters urged the commission to restore access for youth. Parents, youth coaches, and Hermosa Valley youth-league representatives described heavy use by elementary-school-age children, petitions with 450 signatures, and the lack of alternative under-10-foot hoops in the city. "Those basketball hoops serve a significant purpose for our neighborhood and for the Hermosa community at large," said Dan Madden, president of HPYB (Hermosa youth baseball) during a virtual comment.
Commissioners balanced liability concerns with neighborhood needs. Multiple commissioners favored quick restoration of a limited number of hoops at lower heights (to prioritize child use), orientation or reconfiguration to reduce cross-play, and additional mitigation: advisory signage, routine inspections and documentation, ADA-compliant pedestrian routing, soft bollards or padding near hard surfaces, and a formal council statement of intent and policy documenting mitigation and inspection schedules.
Public works staff said they have recurring resurfacing and CIP priorities across the city; specific resurfacing and padding costs for this location are not yet scheduled and would require budget and design work. Staff also noted that keeping poles in place without backboards preserves future options for reinstatement.
The commission's feedback to staff was clear: pursue a mitigation-and-reinstatement plan focused on youth use, return with a proposed configuration and timeline for reinstalling limited hoops and accompanying safety measures at the March meeting, and request that City Council adopt a formal policy statement documenting the mitigation approach.
