Laguna Beach : Soccer, Skateboarding Facilities Considered

The City Council has taken steps that could lead to the community’s first skateboard park and regulation-size soccer field.

Voting unanimously, the council Tuesday night decided to pursue enlarging the field at Moulton Meadows Park to accommodate a 80-yard-by-120-yard soccer field.

Currently, local soccer teams must play their “home” games out of town because Laguna Beach lacks a field large enough.

With soccer’s popularity growing in Laguna Beach, the city has long sought a place to put a regulation-size field.

Supporters of the proposal say Moulton Meadows Park is an appropriate site and that the project is backed by residents near the park.

“This appears to be the only practical way to accomplish something in the near future,” says a memo to the council from recreation director Pat Barry.

The council instructed City Manager Kenneth C. Frank to contract with a landscape architect for a feasibility study and cost estimates for the project. Frank said the project could begin by June, giving the grass time to grow during the summer.

The council also voted 5 to 0 to consider potential sites for a skateboard park.

Supporters say a skateboard park is badly needed since it is against the law in Laguna Beach to ride skateboards on sidewalks or the beach boardwalk, leaving enthusiasts of the sport with few safe and legal options.

The council directed city staff to consider alternative sites for skateboard ramps, prepare an estimate of how much such a project would cost and report back to the council.

Possible sites include a parcel beside Aliso Creek next to the road leading to Ben Brown’s Restaurant, or one of several city parks, including Main Beach Park.

A group of about 30 skateboarders and some parents attended a recreation department meeting in September asking the city to help them find ways to practice the sport safely and legally, Barry said.