There were some residents who were pro-skatepark and some who were against, but there was one thing most of the approximately 40 people in the room agreed on: They didn’t want a skatepark in their backyard.
The word “NIMBY” was tossed around a few times, both in self-reference and as a label toward others, at the Sep. 9 workshop at the Joslyn Center.
“I’ve been to almost every meeting on this subject,” said a woman. “There isn’t a location a neighborhood won’t shoot down.”
Some didn’t want a skatepark at all. About halfway through the two-hour meeting meant to finalize the concepts for the sites chosen at the last meeting on Aug. 6, a woman raised her hand.
“I’m going to be a troublemaker,” said the woman, who didn’t identify herself. “I do not want a skatepark anywhere.”
One table at the Joslyn Center burst into applause, which was mirrored later by another group when Mary Sikonia, a grandmother of some skaters, declared: “I’d hate to see this postponed another 15 years. All these kids will be grown up. I think a skate park is important for here. We’re so good with tennis courts, surfing. Why have we not had a skatepark? It doesn’t make sense.”
The woman against the skatepark said she lived near Manhattan Heights and didn’t want “riff raff from other cities” coming in.
She was the only one to speak out against that particular site.
But just as at the last meeting when the possibility of Bruce’s Beach was vigorously opposed, this time it was the approximately 8,000-square-foot triangle of vegetation at the northern end of The Strand in El Porto.
“I’m very much in support of a skate park,” said one resident. “But this spot is pretty upsetting to anyone who lives there. It’s already logjammed everyday.”
He objected to replacing the green patch with concrete.
“It really increased property values to have nature instead of a power plant,” he said. “None of the other sites would lower property values to this level.”
The site that got the least grumbling was Marine Avenue Park. That site didn’t appear to be in anybody’s backyard—at least not in the yard of anybody at the meeting.
Kanten Russell, the skatepark consultant hired by the city, proposed using the triangular spot at the park’s northeast corner on Redondo Avenue. He agreed with one person’s complaint that the site had limited visibility for parental supervision, and suggested trimming the hedges.
Manhattan Heights Park got an endorsement from a gaggle of Manhattan Beach Middle School students.
“Before and after school, kids can go there and hang out,” said one boy.
Currently, a sign forbids the sport and small dots along the concrete benches in front of the community center seem designed to deter skaters.
Russell suggested two possible areas at the location: the rectangular space, intended for horseshoes, west of the basketball courts, or the space in front of the building where a flag pole currently stands. He thought that the first space, where he envisioned a rideable ledge, a bank and a couple of quarter pipes, would be able to accommodate twice as many skaters as the other one.
Parks and Recreation Director Mark Leyman said they’d continue to take feedback, including other site proposals, through the survey on the city’s website for the next two to three weeks.
Then on Oct. 26, Russell will take the top three concepts to the planning commission. The suggestions would then be reviewed by the city council, tentatively scheduled for Nov. 17. ER
