Calabasas : Residents Divided Over Ban on Skating

Critics of a ban on skateboarding and roller-skating at Calabasas Park Estates say rule makers here are cracking down on a fun and harmless pastime, but advocates call the policy a needed safety precaution.

A printed reminder of the prohibition was distributed to homeowners last week, after several residents complained that youths were illegally riding through the gated community on motorized skateboards.

The notice warns that anyone caught skating--whether motorized or not--will face a $50 fine for a first-time offense and a $25 fine for each subsequent violation.

“The concern is that unlicensed kids are riding around in motor-driven vehicles,” said Larry Dinovitz, a homeowners association board member and developer of the housing complex. “The concern is of some of them getting killed.”

The notice frustrated some parents and children who said they’ve skated within Calabasas Park Estates for years.

A handful of them began collecting signatures during the weekend, and say they will protest the policy at the association board meeting next month.

“This is a family community and there are tons of kids,” said Andrew Cohen-Cutler, whose son and daughter are avid skaters. “There are 12 kids that skateboard on just this block alone.

“I’d rather have kids doing that than standing around thinking about how to break into the next house,” he said.

Dinovitz said skaters are welcome to ride either on their own private property--essentially their driveway or a back-yard patio area--or within a complex parking lot. However, he said, riding on a street or sidewalk is simply too dangerous.

“It’s for their own safety that we’re doing this,” Dinovitz said.

Several skaters say they would support limits on their wheeled recreation, such as no skating at night, but that the existing ban is too prohibitive.

“If people want to roller-blade, make them sign releases so they won’t sue the place,” said Ian Scott, 13.

“Rules are OK, but to ban the whole thing is dumb,” said Hilary Scott, 9.

For now, several skaters have vowed to continue riding, wherever they want.

“Any game that’s outside, whether it involves roller skates or not, involves some risk,” said Cohen-Cutler. “What are they going to outlaw next? Bicycling and playing catch?”