Runyon Canyon basketball court plan scrapped once and for all

Alas, the controversial plans for a Runyon Canyon basketball court have finally been scrapped.

The L.A. Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to rescind their November approval for the construction of the court, after months of protests from local residents. The addition to the 130-acre park would have been funded by clothing company Pink Dolphin, whose logo would have adorned the court.

Residents objected to the plan because of the logo, which they alleged commercialized the space, and the potential for noise pollution. Construction was halted in April amid the controversy.

“We object to the commercialization of the park,” Hollywood Hills resident Michael Meyer said at the hearing Wednesday, the L.A. Daily News reported.

The basketball court wasn’t damned from the beginning. When the city approved the plans November, there was little protest. It wasn’t until the park closed for pipe repairs earlier this year that the objections began to emerge.

Some residents said they were upset that they were never informed of the plans, blaming the lack of communication on local non-profit Friends of Runyon Canyon, which worked with Pink Dolphin on the plan. Others filed a lawsuit against the city over the plans. [LADN] — Cathaleen Chen