City Officials Seek Site for Skate Park

A day after more than 100 skateboarding youths rolled into City Hall in support of a skate park, officials said they are moving swiftly to take the proposal back to the City Council this month.

Parks Manager Bill Byerts said Tuesday that his staff is working to identify one or two possible skate park sites and plans to prepare a recommendation before the Ventura council’s July 29 meeting.

“We have been talking to other agencies . . . as well as looking at all our facilities to find the best site that meets the needs of the community and the kids,” Byerts said.

Meanwhile, skateboarders say they plan to attend the July 29 meeting to speak in support of such a facility.

“I think we really need to get the parents involved,” said Barrie Couture, a 31-year-old businessman who helped a group of local teenagers organize a rally Monday.

Dozens of skateboarders turned out before the Monday council meeting to protest a proposed ban on skateboards, in-line skates and bicycles on downtown sidewalks. Despite their requests to hold off on enforcing the regulation, the council approved the ban.

Couture said the next step for skateboarders is to rally community support for a skate park so youths have a place to spin their wheels.

“The community needs to get together and understand that this is going to be a positive thing,” he said.

City leaders agree that a skate park would benefit the community and give the city’s youth a safe place to practice their sport. But each time officials have identified a potential site, neighbors have shot the proposal down.

Now, parks officials are taking a second look at city property and school district land.