City ordinance forcing residents to take down basketball hoops

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (TNN) - Parents like Rachel Henderson and many others have been dealing with the difficult task of telling their kids that playing basketball outside with friends will have to stop.

“We moved to Wichita Falls about a year and a half ago and put our basketball hoop up shortly after and it’s been a great sense of community,” said Henderson.

That sense of community had a foul called on December 9 when over twenty families received letters from the city stating that their hoops were in violation of the city ordinance 94-258 and would have to come down.

“It has connected us with our community, with the kids, with our neighbors,” said Wichita Falls resident Troy Nottingham. “We would watch the children play while we visited outside and now that has to go. It borderline felt like my son was being bullied.”

City Services officials tell us the problem is that the hoops are considered facilities and when they are in the public right of way, it goes against code. Basketball goals cemented on the curb will have to come down but neighbors say they don’t see why they can’t have portable hoops they can move back and forth from the street, especially in cul-de-sacs where Henderson lives.

“It pains me to know that as much as we’ve had to deal with this past year that the few things my son can do are getting less,” said Nottingham.

The city says no citations have been issued yet, but neighbors are making the push to work with the city council on a compromise to keep their hoops and sense of community intact.

“It’s just a basketball hoop and the children playing together for hours on the weekend, neighbors talking with each other on the weekend, we feel that really aligns with the goals of our city and community,” said Henderson.

Copyright 2021 Texoma News Network. All rights reserved.