Oak Park residents want students off their street

SOPHIA FISCHER/Acorn Newspapers VIOLATION-Students who drive to school were using this property on Southridge as a shortcut. Residents of a cul-de-sac on Southridge Drive appealed to the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council, the sheriff's department and the county to help them deal with rude and messy Oak Park High School students who park on their street. Apparently the message got through as the parking abuses seem to be declining.

At the MAC meeting on Nov. 28, Southridge Drive residents described how teens park on their street to take a shortcut through the now-closed gate that Marie Adams' family installed a dozen years ago on their property. The gate at the end of the cul-de-sac was meant to provide neighborhood children access to the back of the high school.

Students park their cars in front of fire hydrants, mailboxes and driveways and sometimes even move trash cans that are in their way, according to resident Arlene Agress. Adams said the teens often return at lunchtime, leaving trash, including food wrappers, water bottles, cigarette butts and beer cans, on driveways and in front yards.

Another neighbor who attended complained that students have urinated on the side of his house; others complained of cars speeding down the street.

Residents said they had tried talking to the students, some of whom were disrespectful.

"I've been sworn at, threatened. It's gotten completely out of hand and turned into a nightmare," Adams said.

MAC members agreed to contact the school board to request action. Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks said she would consider the residents' request for an ordinance restricting parking on Southridge Drive. Capt. Bill Flanagan of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said police would investigate trespassing and vandalism by students.

"Girls would come and smoke by our house and throw cigarette butts on our property," said resident Sherri Tysch. "I asked them to put the cigarettes out but they refused."

Residents have contacted the high school about the problem. The school's staff has placed fliers on students' cars, warning the teenagers not to be rude to neighbors. A staff member is posted behind the school every day to check student identification to make sure only seniors leave campus at lunch, according to Larry Boone, the assistant principal.

"It's tough," Boone said. "We just don't have enough space on campus for everyone to park their cars."

The calls the school receives from neighbors have never included license numbers or names of the offenders, just general complaints, Boone said.

He said Oak Park High School is supportive of its neighbors.

"We're all for closing the gate there," Boone said. "We'll do anything we can to help."

Adams and her family installed the gate at the back of their property 12 years ago to give children who walked to school easy access to the campus. Everything was fine until about two years ago when other students began parking on Southridge, Adams said. Parents from outside the neighborhood also began dropping their children off in the cul-de-sac so they could use the shortcut.

Tired of the litter and rude behavior, Adams said she closed the gate and planted landscaping to deter students from using the shortcut. Students kicked the fence down. Adams put it up again and it was kicked down again.

"I stand out there and tell them this gate no longer exists, and I had one student say 'I'm jumping the fence.' I said, 'It's my property,' and he said, 'No, it's not,'" Adams said. "This is my private property, and it's within my rights to do this."

Adams estimates that 50 to 60 kids, some from the neighborhood, use the shortcut on a daily basis. She said they all now have to find another way, including those who live on Southridge.

"The kids walking are fine. It's the kids who are driving and parking that are the most confrontational," Adams said. "Unfortunately, everyone suffers from others' actions."