Skateboard Park Taking Off in Ojai

Teenager Beau Farrar, who rides his skateboard at the city’s temporary skate park nearly every day, is the sort of young Ojai resident the City Council wants to please.

The 7,200-square-foot park next to Chaparral High School is one of the few places Beau and his friends can practice their skills without being chased away by police or merchants, who don’t always appreciate boarders sliding down handrails or grinding across flowerpot ledges outside their stores.

The 2-year-old facility has proved so popular with the city’s youth, the city now plans to build a permanent skate park downtown, near Ojai Avenue and Fox Street.

“They’re the ultimate users,” said Carol Belser, Ojai’s recreation director. “We’re building it for them.”

The recreation department has requested proposals by Feb. 20 from several landscape architects to determine the cost to design a 10,000-square-foot concrete structure that would have restrooms, a storage area, benches, bicycle racks and drinking fountains.

By late March, if the city selects a design firm, recreation officials would hold a series of public workshops to ask local skateboarders and other residents what they would like at the new park.

Beau, 13, and his friends have a clear idea: more ramps, rails and stairs to practice on and a structure made of concrete, rather than wood, which tends to warp and slow down skaters.

“[Concrete] is faster,” Beau said. “It rolls better on your wheels, and it lasts longer, [and doesn’t get] bumps that trip you.”

Belser said she plans to ask the council to include funds to build the park in its fiscal 2002-2003 budget. The cost is estimated at $250,000 to $300,000.

The council would still have to approve construction, but city and district officials have already given the concept their blessings.

“We’ve had nothing but good experiences since the temporary park went in,” said Assistant Supt. Jim Berube. “It’s been a great place. It’s full of kids all the time. The key is that it’s supervised and is very visible from the street.”

Mayor Steve Olsen, who is also principal of Chaparral High School, agreed. “It’s used all the time. . . . They seem to enjoy it, and it’s a healthy activity.” he said. “It’s been successful and it’s proven itself to earn a permanent status.”

Similar parks have been built in Camarillo, Thousand Oaks and Ventura.

John Williamson, general manager of Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District, said the 12,000-square-foot concrete facility in Camarillo averages 250 to 300 kids daily.

“Skateboarding is a sport just like any other sport,” Williamson said. “These kids have a right to have a place to do their thing. It’s nice to have it in a park, so they aren’t in danger of being hit by a car.”

Ojai’s new park would be open to in-line skaters, as well as BMX bike riders at certain times, officials said. Chaparral High students would likely continue to use the park during school hours as part of their regular physical education curriculum. But a lease agreement between the school district and city, which would continue to own and operate the skate park, must still be worked out.

In 1999, the school district agreed to let the city build a temporary skateboarding facility in a park-and-ride lot outside the high school. The city leases 22 parking spaces for $4,268. They house the $50,000 wood skateboarding structure, which features ramps, rails, inclines and ledges. It hasn’t caused a parking problem, as the lot is rarely full on weekdays, city officials said.

Capt. Gary Pentis, who oversees the Ventura County sheriff’s station in Ojai, said he has noticed few problems associated with the park since it opened.

“Kids enjoy it,” Pentis said. “And it’s obviously given them a place to skate, which has curtailed a lot of [skating] activity in the business area.”

Complaints from local business owners are down, he said.

About 30 skateboarders gathered at the outdoor facility recently, grinding across wooden ledges and sliding across metal rails. They jumped orange construction cones set up as obstacles and made split-second maneuvers to avoid crashing into each other.

“It’s fun. It’s active,” said Darya Brutoco, 13, of Ojai, who visits the park at least three times a week. “It’s something to do when you’re bored, if you have no where to go.”

Resident John Lobdell, who stopped by to watch his son, Nick, 11, said it’s obvious the city needs a larger skate park.

“You can see all the kids here. They’re crawling all over each other,” he said. “If kids have stuff to do, they don’t get in trouble. They really need to have this.”