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In This Issue...
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Capitola Council Supports Skate Park at Noble Gulch
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Capitola Council Supports Skate Park at Noble Gulch
By Linda Fridy
Delighted and bolstered by a large youth turnout, Capitola’s five-member council voted on Wednesday, Feb. 22, to develop plans for a skate park near the corner of Bay Avenue and Monterey Avenue. On a split vote, the council directed staff to survey the site and consider funding options for building a skateboard park during the next fiscal year at Capitola’s upper Noble Gulch Park.
The public hearing drew a large audience of young and young-at-heart skateboarders, parents and neighbors of two proposed sites. The council was considering three possible locations: upper Noble Gulch Park, the storm water retention basin at Brommer Street and 38th Avenue, and the former beach shuttle parking lot on McGregor Drive by New Brighton State Park.
No one in attendance opposed a city-built skate facility, although some speakers addressed specific sites and safety concerns.
The Brommer Street and 38th Avenue basin area drew the largest opposition. Residents questioned whether a combined use was feasible, and pointed out that there would be noise, parking and traffic issues with surrounding neighbors.
Some Noble Gulch neighbors also opposed that site for noise and parking reasons. The young skaters, debunking the stereotype that part of their fun is skating where they aren’t welcome, quickly threw their support to the McGregor site, repeatedly stating that they were tired of getting in trouble for skating and were happy with a location away from homes.
When the Council members’ turn to speak came, it was clear that they were ready to move ahead. The debate came over location. Sam Storey and Ron Graves favored the McGregor property for its size and appropriateness for a recreational use. However, the Council majority favored Noble Gulch.
Choosing a Site
For more than two decades, Capitola has looked sporadically for a spot to locate a skateboard park, and virtually no bare piece of ground has been spared consideration.
Jade Street and Monterey parks were initially included in the city’s search of publicly owned or leased lots. However, discussions with the local school district soon eliminated both sites.
Jade Street is owned by the district, and Superintendent Kathleen Howard told the city that the district’s insurance wouldn’t permit skateboarding. Monterey Park is adjacent to New Brighton Middle School and is jointly used, making it also unsuitable, district officials argued.
That left the three sites considered at the public meeting. Using a ranking system suggested by local skate park designer Zach Wormhoudt, the three sites appeared similar. The Council quickly eliminated the basin, and took up sides with the remaining two locations.
Although McGregor is the largest parcel, the evaluation process rated it “poor” for people getting to the location using mass transit. Likewise, there isn’t nearby infrastructure. Noble Park received no “poor” ratings.
For Mayor Mike Termini, the deciding factor was safety. He explained his concern was not the skaters’ behavior, but potential danger to unsupervised kids.
“Noble Gulch is right in the middle of the city, with police all around, neighbors all around,” he said in an interview after the meeting. “[McGregor] is a little too isolated, a little too scary for me to put our children out there.”
A Hands-On Civics Lesson
Young skateboarders got the chance to practice grass-roots politics in their appeals to the Council. Several New Brighton Middle School students had circulated a petition, which garnered more than 140 signatures of students and adults in two days.
“I saw some kids writing and passing something around, so being a teacher I of course confiscated it,” said eighth grade humanities teacher Michelle Fisher-Bell. However, when she saw what it was, she offered to announce the project at the sports assembly and house the petition in her classroom.
Fisher-Bell supported the petition drive personally and as an educational opportunity.
“When you’re talking about kids who don’t drive, do you want them going further and further away? Why can’t every little town have a place, especially when everywhere else [skating] is illegal?” she asked. And as she told the students, “Here’s a great opportunity to exercise your rights in government.”
In addition to asking interested students for signatures, the students approached administrators and office personnel at both New Brighton and the nearby district office. They then drafted a statement, which they gave at the public hearing.
These efforts made a strong impact on the Council and adults in attendance.
“Such eloquence. You guys rock!” Mayor Termini told them at one point.
“I hope all these young kids run for City Council one day,” said Sandi Pensinger, who came to make a plea that a dog park be considered at the sites not chosen for a skate park.
Other Options for McGregor Site The Council was not done discussing the McGregor parcel. Three high-end hotels and the County Office of Education have approached the city about the land, and the Council supported funding a survey looking at the riparian environment on the lot, which will help define appropriate development size and use.
Meanwhile, city staff will confirm that there are no problems with building a skate park on the upper Noble Gulch area, such as sewer lines, and consider adding a bathroom. Termini said he got two business cards from local skateboarding businesses ready to help make the park happen, and he’s optimistic about finding funding.
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