Carlsbad Softens Plan to Curb Skateboarders

A revised version of an ordinance to regulate skateboarding in Carlsbad will limit rather than ban the sport, according to a draft released Monday.

Despite the efforts to compromise on the ordinance, the City Council expects a large and vocal audience at a public hearing tonight for its first reading of the ordinance.

When a law that would have banned skateboarding everywhere except set-aside sections of parks was first mentioned in November, more than 25 children and young adults spoke out against it, a Carlsbad spokeswoman said.

“Those were just the ones that were allowed to speak,” Joni Wiltgen said. “There were a lot more than that in the council chambers that day.”

Because of the large interest in the proposed ordinance, a committee was formed to find a solution for both skateboard enthusiasts and local businessman who claim their property is being damaged by roving bands of kids on wheels.

The new proposal would allow skateboarding on private property unless the owner posts a sign prohibiting it. It also allows the sport in most public areas, although it allows the council to regulate skateboarding at any time on specific properties by posting signs.

The ordinance is designed to protect businesses such as stores and shopping malls that want to keep skateboarders away, Wiltgen said.

“If there is a sign put up on property which says there is no skateboarding, then anyone who skateboards on that property can be prosecuted,” Wiltgen said of the new proposal. “But the signs have to be posted.”

Capt. Gene R. Kellogg of the Carlsbad police said that, if the ordinance passes, lawbreakers will be treated like other misdemeanor offenders. He also said skateboards could be impounded as evidence in the case and their owners fined as well.

“We have been getting complaints for a long time, especially in the shopping centers,” Kellogg said. “The complaints, really, come from all over town.”

If no amendments to the ordinance are needed, the council could vote on the ordinance by January, Wiltgen said.