Skateboarders May Get 3 Park Sites for Their Sport

HUNTINGTON BEACH â€”  Two months after the city enacted one of the county’s most prohibitive laws against skateboarding, city officials and a group of skateboarders have agreed on a plan to designate sites where enthusiasts may legally enjoy their sport.

Under a proposal to be presented to the City Council on Monday, the city would spend $100,000 in park-development funds to set up skateboarding areas in three existing parks. The skateboarding facilities would be the only ones of their kind in Orange County.

As proposed, concrete walls, benches and curbs would be built in small areas of Edison Community Park, Huntington Central Park and Worthy Park.

Two similar skating areas in parks in Anaheim and Irvine were closed in recent years, mainly because of complaints about noise from nearby residents. Ron Hagan, community services director for Huntington Beach, said he believes that the new facilities would not face those problems because they would be located far enough away from residential areas.

The proposed sites would range in size from 1,400 to 10,500 square feet, Hagan said. They would be situated in the vicinity of schools, parks and shopping centers popular among skateboarders. Most of those areas have been battered and defaced by dark skate marks, he said.

By establishing the new areas, Hagan said, the city hopes to provide legal alternatives for skateboarders. “This way, when we kick (skateboarders) out of one area, we can hand them a map where they can do it legally,� he said.

The plan for the skating areas was worked out after weeks of study by Hagan and a task force of 10 skateboard-industry officials and other skateboarders. The advisory group was established in April after council members enacted a law banning skateboarding in all commercial areas.

Some residents and business owners had complained that skateboarders zipping along sidewalks and other areas posed a safety hazard. Dozens of skateboarders, including local skateboard-industry executives, rallied to decry the new law as unduly harsh.

In a report prepared for the City Council, Hagan agreed with skateboarders who say their sport is a growing recreational activity that should be encouraged rather than outlawed.

Members of the skateboarding task force on Tuesday praised the proposal as an ideal solution.

“We’re looking at taking this terrible thing that’s happened and (turning) it around into something that is beneficial for the skaters,� said Alec Schroeder, 26, owner of three companies that build skateboarding ramps and other equipment. “This is absolutely what skaters are looking for and what skaters need.�

Schroeder said he expects that designing concrete areas specifically for skateboarding would greatly reduce injuries in the sport. Many of the injuries, he said, are now caused by cracks in concrete surfaces and similar problems.

“These will be areas that skateboarders like to go to instead of a shopping center or somewhere else,� said Paul Schmitt, 27, owner of a Costa Mesa skateboard products store. “If we can go to a place and not be hassled or bothered by others, we’re happy kids.�

If the council approves the plan, city officials would also consider a city-sponsored site and two privately run facilities for more advanced skateboarders.