Eleven-year-old Zoro Kharmandaryan has played on his
sidewalk-mounted portable basketball hoop outside his Hollister
home for the past two years.
Eleven-year-old Zoro Kharmandaryan has played on his sidewalk-mounted portable basketball hoop outside his Hollister home for the past two years.
Kharmandaryan and his friends often shoot baskets during the summer afternoons, many times until sunset. Whenever vehicles drive by, they run from the street to the sidewalk, he said.
Throughout Hollister neighborhoods, portable hoops overhang streets and mask sidewalks. The recent proliferation of these convenient basketball hoops that have replaced the older style that was attached to garages concerns city officials who say they pose a safety risk.
“Kids are out there playing. They’re so focused out there playing basketball that they’re not paying attention to traffic and flow,” said Tim Burns, Hollister’s code enforcement officer.
Not only that, Burns said the portable hoops also obstruct pathways and hinder street sweeping operations. And frankly, he added they are unattractive.
“It’s a quality of life issue.”
To combat what the city foresees as an increasing problem, officials have increased their enforcement of the illegally placed baskets during the past year and plan to continue spreading awareness. Hollister is joining many other communities throughout the nation in such efforts.
When Burns receives complaints about specific sites, he routinely surveys the entire neighborhood. In 2002, Burns marked 121 hoops with notices requesting removal within 72 hours. After initial visits, he has returned to give a final 72-hour notice.
An assessment in the Anderson Homes development in May turned up an alarming number of violations, he said.
“I started driving through,” he said, “and I’m going one, two, 10, 15, 17, 35, 45, 52, 53, 54 (hoops), and a skateboard ramp, too.”
But Hollister doesn’t fine residents. If people do not comply, officials confiscate the portable hoop that generally costs between $150 and $450.
The city has seized only two since Burns, Hollister’s first full-time code enforcement officer, started working for the city 16 months ago.
“Truly, the city’s position is we don’t want to confiscate them,” Burns said. “We don’t want them. We’re just trying to resolve the problem.”
Other communities fine homeowners if the basketball hoop is illegally placed, Burns said. A code enforcement officer from Fairfield recently told Burns that city fines people $100 for the infraction.
Kharmandaryan and two of his friends – brothers Aldo and Mikey Flores, both 12 – said they haven’t experienced any problems while using Kharmandaryan’s hoop. Though one part of his clear backboard was shattered recently, when someone in a passing car tossed a rock through it.
While all three boys also play basketball at nearby Rancho San Justo Middle School, Kharmandaryan said they would be disappointed if the city forced the removal of the hoop from the sidewalk.
Mayor Brian Conroy said he does not see a problem with the sidewalk or street placement of the portable hoops. Aside from specific instances involving vehicles getting dented or neighbors complaining, he disagreed with the city’s enforcement position.
“I’d rather see kids out there playing basketball than have them painting a wall,” Conroy said.
But Conroy has only one of five votes if the City Council considered changing the ordinance. And other Council members, including Robert Scattini, agrees with the enforcement. As the county marshal, Scattini often patrols the city and witnesses an array of blight issues.
“It’s dangerous to have kids playing out in the street,” said Scattini, who added there may be potential liability issues involved.
Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia called the portable hoops “a hindrance” for passing traffic and a safety issue for the kids.
“I wouldn’t let my kids play outside on those,” she said.
Scattini said the solution is building more parks. Conroy and Burns said Hollister lacks the open space and park playgrounds to accommodate the city’s population of children.
Kharmandaryan, incidentally, lives in the neighborhood where the city plans to build the 2.5-acre Southeast Park by the summer of 2004.
Burns plans to attend the July 22 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to lobby the city to build more basketball facilities.
“As a kid, if I wanted to go shoot hoops,” Burns said. “I could go down to my neighborhood school and play basketball up there. I don’t know that it’s a viable option for a lot of parents with children.”
