Homeowners Shut Down Little League PA System

ENCINO — From a dusty but comfortable seat in the back of a dugout at Franklin Fields, the seeds of summer are sprouting.

Two teams of eager 13- and 14-year-olds are milling around the diamond, waiting to start a late afternoon Little League baseball game. These are all-star players, who have worked all season to take the field with plenty of pregame hype, as Vin Scully imitators on the public-address system fill the air with detailed statistics and personalized stories as they introduce each young player.

But the loudspeakers were silent Tuesday, in the second day of all-star play.

Acting on complaints from the Encino Homeowners Assn. that the PA system was too loud, the Army Corps of Engineers, which has jurisdiction over the Sepulveda Dam Basin where the park is located, suspended Franklin Fields’ loudspeaker permit for 30 days on the grounds that the system exceeded a 60-decibel limit.

Coaches, league officials and players say that silencing the sound system has broken a crucial unspoken link between beaming parents and proud young players.

“It’s a very important part of the game,” insists Hank Barkley, president of the Mid-Valley Pony League, which plays at the facility. “These kids love to hear their name and for people to know their batting averages. How can you not say their names?”

Tuesday’s Little League game between the Canyon Country Giants and Granada Hills Dodgers was a quiet affair with players murmuring the Pledge of Allegiance and the Little League oath instead of speaking loudly along with an announcer.

The Giants’ starting pitcher, a big left-hander named Jeff Souther, was disappointed to learn his team would get no booming recognition.

“It’s great when everybody knows your name,” the 15-year-old said while warming up. “Hearing it pumps me up and makes me try harder. I don’t think it’s right that they took away the announcer. If those people knew the baseball field was here, why would they move here anyway?”

“It was missing the flavor of things like the flag salute and the kids being recognized,” said coach and umpire Brian Anson. “It was basically, let’s start the game and that’s it.”

The sound system is not used for most regular season games--only special events, such as tournaments and the all-star games. “We have the capability of announcing every game,” Barkley adds. “But we don’t do that because we want to be good neighbors.”

The actual neighbors are not pleased.

Mary Marks, a nearby resident of 22 years who spearheaded the campaign to stifle the loudspeaker noise, rallied a few neighbors and took their complaint to City Councilwoman Laura Chick’s office, who referred them to the Corps of Engineers.

Marks says the league abuses the loudspeaker privilege.

“We love all the sounds of the game like the kids playing and cheering,” Marks says. “But the noise is so bad that even with all my windows and doors closed you can still hear it. The noise pollution prevents me from using my own backyard. All we are asking them to do is comply with proper noise levels.”

The ban has a few Little League supporters upset at what they call an unfair ruling. “I have a problem when a few neighbors have enough power to change the game for more than 800 kids,” said Joe Bua, a parent and coach in the West Valley Regional Little League.

Franklin Fields opened in the early 1950s and has always been a busy baseball haven. After previous complaints about the noise, coaches tried repositioning speakers away from the street and toward the field. Unlike like most comparable recreational facilities, Franklin Fields is located close to residential areas.

Corps of Engineers representatives say they may appear to be the villains to the young baseball players, but are actually only adhering to noise regulations.

“There are no federal guidelines on stuff like this other than for health and safety reasons,” said Herb Nesmith, spokesman for the corps. “So generally what we try to do is follow the local city and county guidelines, depending on who leases.”

The league hopes the dispute can be resolved before an another all-star tournament begins June 28.