Council Delays Vote on New Skateboard Ban

Saying they want more proof that skateboarders are causing a problem, the City Council voted 6 to 0 to delay deciding whether to ban them from a shopping center near Ventura College.

Mayor Jack Tingstrom was not present at the meeting.

This is the first time the council has not pushed through the request of a property owner to ban skateboarding at a commercial center. Six other shopping centers--mostly in east Ventura--have already received council approval to ban the skateboarders, with no snags and few questions.

But Monday night was different.

“We need to start drawing a line in the sand,” Councilman Ray Di Guilio said. “Otherwise you might as well just ban the kids from skateboarding within the city.”

Even after one of the property owners, Ray Curtis, told the council that the skateboarders zooming around the sidewalks and parking lot at Mound Center, located at Day and Telegraph roads, sometimes imperil shoppers, council members said his complaints lacked “substance.”

The council decided to reconsider the issue in a few weeks, when it has more information.

Earlier in the day, Ruth Curtis, who lives on Day Road and owns part of the property, said she is concerned about skateboarders getting hurt on her property and suing her.

“There’s quite a few skaters out there,” said Curtis. “The only thing we are unsure of is what are we liable for if a kid gets hurt out there?”

She added that a new fitness center will soon be moving into the long vacant Noren’s market in the shopping center. She worries that the danger to the skateboarders will increase with the heavier traffic.

The discussion came just as the city hustles to build a safe haven for skateboarders.

The City Council voted earlier this year to spend $100,000 to build three small skateboarding parks in west, central and east Ventura. Each park will be about 2,000 square feet--about the size of the decorative concrete plaza at Santa Clara and California streets, where skateboarders used to catch air before a downtown skateboard ban was passed last year.

Director of Community Services Everett Millais said he expects the parks to be built as soon as six months from now.

Acting as the Redevelopment Agency, the City Council also approved a plan to merge the three downtown redevelopment districts--the Mission Plaza, Downtown and the Beachfront. City officials estimate that the merger will save the city $4.62 million over the long term. There will be a final public hearing on the matter Nov. 3.

Finally, the council voted 6 to 0 to approve an $80,000 solar-powered, illuminated sculpture of a Chumash canoe and paddles to adorn the new downtown parking garage. The lead artist on the project is Inglewood-based Blue McRight.

“This is the way arts in public places is supposed to work,” said Councilman Di Guilio after a presentation by the artists of how the solar-powered sculpture would work. The money will be drawn from the city’s public arts funds.