Opponents of the minor league baseball team playing in have not given up, despite a court ruling in favor of the team.
The Albert Park Neighborhood Alliance filed an appeal in a San Francisco court yesterday seeking to reverse Marin Superior Court Judge M. Lynn Duryee’s Feb. 28 ruling in favor of the North American League team, known as the San Rafael Pacifics.
The APNA said in statement that the Pacifics violate the park’s deed restrictions that bar commercial use of the property for periods exceeding one week in duration, and that local teams and nonprofits seeking to use the park facilities will be overlooked.
“Free use of the park, assured by the Albert Park grant deed, will be a thing of the past,” the statement said.
In February, Duryee tentatively ruled that additional environmental studies weren’t needed for the team to play at Albert Field. The appeal focuses on the deed and not the environmental studies, according to the APNA.
The team’s owner Centerfield Partners, LLC., but s
, and, in addition to signing several players and holding tryouts, . The team will play 42 home games between June 4 and Aug. 26.
"We're very disappointed that this small group of unreasonable people are continuing their efforts to prevent us from bringing a lot of joy and positive benefits to the community,"said Mike Shapiro, general manager and president of the team.
Despite the litigation, Shaprio says the appeal wont's impact the season and that they're determined to move forward.
Some accuse APNA of maintaining their litigation to prevent professional baseball on the field, but the group says that the “lawsuit has nothing to do with baseball and everything to do with preserving Albert Park as a public recreational facility.”
