L.A. BASEBALL ACADEMY PLAN SCORES MAJOR WIN.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

Responding to impassioned pleas from City Council President Alex Padilla and Councilman-elect Tony Cardenas, the Planning Commission approved plans Thursday for Major League Baseball to develop a $6 million sports academy for at-risk youths atop the former Sheldon-Arleta Landfill.

Some neighbors questioned the safety of building a youth sports camp on the Sun Valley site, which has a history of methane gas problems. But commission members and project supporters expressed confidence those risks could be mitigated.

``Our commitment is not to throw up our hands and walk away from a great opportunity because there are some challenges,'' Padilla said. ``We're looking at a part of Los Angeles and the community that needs to know these career opportunities are real.''

The academy would open in fall 2004, providing free academic, athletic and career training to 2,000 children a year. It is the first in a nationwide network of academies proposed by the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Foundation, the charitable arm of professional baseball.

Major League Baseball has committed $3 million to the project, and its foundation has access to $2.3 million in state park bond dollars. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is chipping in $1 million.

The Los Angeles Dodgers funded the campaign to convince Major League Baseball to build the first youth academy in Los Angeles, said Derrick Hall, the team's senior vice president of communications. The Dodgers also will provide additional funding and staff support if the project becomes a reality.

``We would like to provide this opportunity for the youth in the city,'' Hall said. ``It needs to come to fruition.''

The foundation plans to use half of the 40-acre site to develop five regulation-size baseball and softball fields and a 20,000-square-foot clubhouse. The city is considering creating a public park on the other half.

The city has offered the academy rent-free use of the land. The Bureau of Sanitation is responsible for maintaining the old landfill and monitoring the gas migration from trash decomposing beneath the surface.

Landfill neighbors warned there is a history of gas drifting into nearby Francis Polytechnic High School and said they are worried about lax monitoring once the academy is developed.

``I want those children to play baseball, but only if it is safe,'' said Ron Hall, a member of the Sun Valley Neighborhood Improvement Council. ``If we can monitor it all the time, then we'll be fine.''

But academy supporters said they trust the city and foundation's assurances that the site is safe.

Community member Joe Lozano pleaded with the commission to vote in favor of the academy.

``We're not building a Belmont here,'' he said, referring to the $166 million high school project in downtown Los Angeles that was abandoned after methane gas was discovered under the site.

The Planning Commission's approval essentially clears the way for the foundation to use the landfill site, although opponents can appeal to the City Council. The foundation also must get permits from agencies regulating water, air and waste before it can begin construction.

CAPTION(S):

map

Map:

Former landfill

Polytechnic High School

Daily News