LASUD working on raising fence after neighbor complained of home runs leaving Venice ballpark

LOS ANGELES - Venice High School's baseball team will play ball once again on its home field.

Monday's development comes after a controversy with a neighbor nearly forced the Gondos to play the rest of their games on the road.

A Zoom meeting with parents brought assurances from LAUSD officials on safety improvements that will be made to the left field fence after a neighbor complained about batted balls reaching their property.

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The controversy comes as LAUSD spent nearly a million dollars renovating the field. But those renovations moved the home plate closer to the left field fence, making it slightly easier for the home runs to hit nearby homes.

Now, LAUSD is working on putting up a higher fence. 

"We still have an obligation," said Mark Hovatter, with LAUSD. "Not hitting balls into people’s yards, that's not an unreasonable request. I doubt anyone would not have concerns if unexpected balls were raining down in their yard."