Residents Say Foul Balls From St. Joseph High School Are Causing Damage at Knollwood Estates

ORCUTT, Calif. (KEYT) - St. Joseph High School in Orcutt is under scrutiny from the County of Santa Barbara due to stray softballs entering the adjacent Knollwood Terrace residents’ yards and causing damage.

As it turns out, Santa Barbara County’s Planning and Development Department has confirmed St. Joseph High School never applied for a permit to build the new softball field.

One resident of Knollwood Estates has collected over 20 softballs, and another has collected at least 30.

Some spectators of the high school’s gameplay have been able to pet a dog who is secured in the backyard.

Residents say these errant softballs have broken roof tiles, potted plants, one broke a window, and one grazed the ponytail of a resident’s granddaughter who was playing in the backyard, a near-miss that could have been an injury.

The Knollwood Terrace Homeowners Association has asked the school to hold gameplay until mitigation measures were in place, and say they were met with refusal. 

The HOA has since issued formal complaints, and St. Joseph High School submitted a retroactive application for approval of the field in December, 2025.

Knollwood HOA board member David Whitham says if the county had been part of the process, they would’ve required 15-foot setbacks from all adjacent properties, but some residents report a 3-foot setback.

Whitham says the county did require the school to extend the safety net fences, but due to a delay in shipment of materials, they’ll be placed after the current season is over.

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