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Santa Fe Springs Family Fights City To Keep Backyard Playground For Special Needs Daughter

SANTA FE SPRINGS (CBSLA.com) — A family say they feel unfairly targeted by the city of Sante Fe Springs after they were told they had to dismantle a backyard playground that means the world to their special needs child.

The Miranda family said the playset was a gift from the Make-A-Wish Foundation for their 10-year-old daughter, Tiffany, whose severe seizure disorder makes it practically impossible for her to go to a city park.

"Just just loves it. She's able to be a normal kid. She has her own special park," Tiffany's mother Jessica Torres said.

Jessica and her husband, Felix, said they can't believe the city is telling them they have to take down the playground because it's allegedly a public nuisance.

"When I asked the city, 'So where do you expect my daughter to play?' they said 'Well, the city's not responsible for your daughter's disability,'" Torres said. "They said 'Your Tiffany is not our problem.'"

The city manager said he's concerned for the health and safety of the family because of clutter around the play area.

But Torres, who's an oncology charge nurse at Beverly Hospital in Montebello, showed CBS2/KCAL9 reporter Adrianna Weingold the backyard, front yard and the inside of the family's home and things looked relatively neat and tidy.

Torres showed Weingold some of the tickets the city's issued, calling on the family to remove all items from the backyard and front yard, including all playground equipment.

The city said they have asked the family to clean up around the playset, but the city manager told Weingold that, despite what's clearly written on the ticket, the playground can stay.

But Torres and her husband said no one has communicated that to them.

"I'm not going to let this go. I'm not going to remove the playhouse and I'm not going to remove her canopy and I want them to stop picking on my Tiffany," Torres said.

The city manager told Weingold he'll be in touch with the family to hopefully clear up any miscommunication about their citations.

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