Noisy toddlers are being blamed for the city relocating a popular kids program in the Upper Beaches neighbourhood.

Last week, parents of children in Sportball – a multi-sport summer program for young children – received an email from staff notifying them that the program at Lynndale Parkette in the Beaches had been turfed.

Sportball is aimed at toddlers who are between 16 months and 5 years old. The children attend classes three days a week at Lynndale Park for a total of six hours.

In the email, staff said that residents surrounding Lynndale Parkette “petitioned to have Sportball removed from utilizing the parkette for the entire summer season.”

Sportball staff told parents that if the program did not relocate, both Sportball and parents could be subject to a fine.

Henrik Jeanty Anderson, whose 20-month-old son has been participating in the program at Lynndale, posted a copy of the email on Facebook, suggesting parents file a complaint with the city’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation division.

“We find it inappropriate that a kids sport program is removed from a public space, which should be available to all,’ Anderson said in the post

Though the program received a proper permit from the city to run out of the Lynndale Parkette, it has since been relocated it a parkette about 500 metres away.

Matthew Cutler, the spokesperson with Toronto’s Parks, Forestry, and Recreation, said that the decision to relocate Sportball was the city’s way of “balancing competing interests.’

“It was the first time we had ever had a program of this type in that park and we received a number of complaints about the group – particularly about noise but also about parking and safety in the space. So we worked with the permit holders to identify another park 500 metres away to deliver the programming there,” Cutler said.

He added that the city has not investigated the validity or the significance of the complaints.

“What we did when we received those complaints was try to balance out some of those needs. We found another park that worked for the organizers as well as the neighbourhood and made them move the program to try and balance those needs.”

Area Coun. Gary Crawford said he received “about a dozen” complaints from local residents.

“When the program started there were a few inquiries from some parents in the area. Number one being why a program – a wonderful program like this – allowed to come into a parkette that has historically never had any permits and is actually not allowed to have permits mainly because of its size,” Crawford told CTV Toronto.

“City staff determined that this park was too small. On safety, I think there was a number of concerns, not about the program itself but when you look at this small parkette in a small residential area – there are no sidewalks, there is no parking.”

Crawford said the new location is a “better facility” that has more parking availability for parents.

Some parents call the complaints “pathetic” and say that the fact the program runs during daytime hours should be enough of a reason to let it continue.

“I think its ridiculous. I think kids need to be outside enjoying the activity and the outdoors, especially in the day and even in the evening when it’s a lot cooler and they don’t have to be outside in the hot heat in the middle of the day,” one parent told CTV Toronto.

“I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion but little kids need to get out and play,” another parent said.