Hollywood Hills

Runyon Canyon Basketball Court Rejected

The basketball court was met with public outcry from residents near the hiking area above Hollywood

What to Know

  • Runyon Canyon park is closed for a water system project.
  • The park will likely reopen at the end of July with the exception of the yoga field.
  • The basketball court would be on the site of a former tennis court in the hiking area.

Plans for a basketball court nestled in the Runyon Canyon hiking area were sidelined Wednesday when a city board rescinded the plan.

The Board of Recreation and Parks reversed an earlier decision to build a court at its Wednesday meeting.

Construction plans for the court were met with opposition from residents near the Runyon Canyon hiking area, who filed a lawsuit alleging city officials failed to properly notify the surrounding community about the impacts of construction they argue would "scar" their neighborhood "oasis."

Plans for the court called for a logo of street apparel company Pink Dolphin, whose CEO donated money to the project.

The Department of Recreation and Parks has agreed to halt construction on the project, and Recreation and Parks commissioners were asked to reconsider the project at Wednesday morning's meeting.

The popular hiking area and off-leash dog park in the Santa Monica Mountains, which is currently closed while undergoing pipeline upgrades, hosts 1.8 million visitors every year, including 300,000 dogs, city officials said.

The basketball court, which was scheduled to open to the public on July 31, is part of a privately-funded rehabilitation project that will rebuild the existing concrete tennis court foundation and fencing, along with a retaining wall.

Rescinding the plan will come at a price.

Councilman David Ryu told The Los Angeles Times that the city will need to pay back about $210,000 to the chief executive of Pink Dolphin. Most of that money is for the costly retaining wall, which was already built. 

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