City Council to Discuss New Skate Park Policies

Skateboarders are eagerly awaiting the debut of the city’s first public skate park.

“I am stoked on it,” said Steve Scholz, 19, who works at Hotskates Co. on Campus Drive. “It’ll give a lot of little kids a place where they can go and skate. . . . It’ll be pretty rad.”

The City Council, which has approved the concept and design of the 8,000-square-foot park at the city Corporation Yard on Sand Canyon Avenue, plans to review policy matters for the recreation area Aug. 25.

Up for consideration are hours of operation, safety equipment, supervision and whether to impose user fees, said Deanna Manning, community services director at City Hall.

Operating a supervised park would cost the city $28,936 for the first three months. An unsupervised project would cost $17,200 for the same period.

A state law Jan. 1 reduced cities’ liabilities for unsupervised skate parks, prompting several building proposals in Orange County. Irvine will model its park on recreation areas in Huntington Beach. Costa Mesa is doing the same.

Mayor Christina L. Shea said she is concerned about supervision. She favors hiring someone to watch over children at the park for the first six months or year, even if it means higher insurance costs for the city.