Wild Wheels or Good Skates? : Skateboarding: Laws to curb the sport are proliferating, but in Huntington Beach aficionados may soon have their own facilities in three parks. Other cities are studying similar plans.

To some, skateboarders are vandals on wheels, rude rovers who deserve to be lassoed by the anti-skateboarding laws approved recently in several Orange County cities.

To others, the youngsters are determined mavericks who pursue their sport despite a rash of regulations snapping at their heels.

While those favoring restrictions have had the upper hand of late, a movement to provide hassle-free skateboarding areas in Orange County is gaining momentum.

In Huntington Beach, where skateboarding is banned downtown, the City Council on Monday night unanimously approved conceptual plans for what would be the only skateboard parks in Orange County.

Laguna Niguel is also studying the idea of skateboard parks, and in Dana Point, where the sport is prohibited in commercial centers, the mother of one skateboarder has launched a drive to have a skate park built in South County.

Joanne Paris said she decided to come to the defense of the skateboarders because the youngsters are considered “little criminals,” are regularly harassed by adults and are generally misunderstood. Paris said she has collected 1,600 signatures from South County residents who favor allowing skateboarding in parks and at schools as well as the creation of a commercial skateboard park.

“I’m trying to heal the black eye for skateboarders,” said Paris, whose 14-year-old son, Jared Kurtz, enjoys the sport. “There are troublemakers in all walks of life, but skateboarding is not a crime and these kids are not criminals.”

Jared Kurtz denied that skateboarders as a group are vindictive.

“Sure we’re a little bit frustrated,” he said. “We get kicked out of places every day, (but) we don’t go back there and retaliate.”

However, in communities where the sport has been banned, police and business owners say skateboarders have caused considerable trouble.

In Laguna Niguel, merchants and property owners complained that skateboarders damage property, frighten customers and retaliate when asked to leave. In one case, a restaurant manager was pushed to the ground by skateboarders after he took a board from one of them when the group refused to disperse, said Sheriff’s Department Lt. Joe Davis, chief of police services in Laguna Niguel.

Since it opened last summer, skateboarders have caused $2,000 damage to the Home Club in Laguna Niguel, including damage to concrete, gutters and parked automobiles, Davis said. The City Council subsequently approved an ordinance prohibiting “hazardous and recreational” skateboarding when requested by business owners.

In general, skateboarders have responded cooperatively to the Huntington Beach law and few tickets have been issued, Police Lt. Ed McErlain said. Police officers would not object to skate parks in the city, he said.

“We don’t feel skateboarders per se are troublemakers,” McErlain said. “If there’s a possibility we can find a location for the kids, we certainly don’t oppose it.”

The Huntington Beach City Council’s action Monday came despite protests from residents who said they fear what skateboarders will do to parks and residential property values.

“I believe it would bring an undesirable element into the area,” said Lloyd Helm, a Huntington Beach resident.

Other residents who pleaded with the council to drop the idea of skateboard parks said they worry that “gangs” from all over Orange County will come to Huntington Beach if the city becomes the only site in the county with public skateboard rinks.

But several residents, including some young skateboarders, spoke in favor of the parks. Justin Reagan told the council that residents who opposed the parks were guilty of “ignorance and prejudice.”

In voting for the conceptual plans Monday night, the City Council did not give final approval to the project. The council in July will consider final plans for the $100,000 facilities, which would be funded by park dedication fees paid by developers.

The skateboard areas would consist of concrete walls, benches and curbs built in areas of Edison Community Park, Huntington Central Park and Worthy Park.

Huntington Beach isn’t the first Orange County city that has tried to tackle the skateboard issue. In 1976, a 10,000-square-foot skateboard park was developed as part of the University Community Park Plan in Irvine. But after broken arms, suits against the city and complaints from neighbors about loitering and noise, the park was closed in 1979, said City Manager Paul O. Brady Jr.

Irvine has no laws against skateboarding and no plans for another park, he said. “The more you get faced with potential lawsuits, the more you have to think about whether it’s worth it to do or not,” Brady said.

Liability is generally the roadblock to such ventures, say those who have studied the problem. The county has never pursued the idea of a skate park because of the risks involved, said Tim Miller, director of Orange County harbors, beaches and parks.

“The big issue is liability, it really is,” Miller said.

The Huntington Beach City Council also voiced concern about liability issues. Ron Hagan, the city’s director of community services, said he believes the danger of accidents is minimal because the proposed skateboard facilities would not have elevations higher than 18 inches. Nonetheless, the council asked the city staff to report back in July on ways to limit city liability.

But Kathleen Black of Laguna Niguel said her son and his friends have skateboarded in her back yard for the last two years and so far there have been no liability problems. Black collects waivers from other parents to relieve her of blame so the teens will have a place to go, she said.

“They’re not bad kids,” Black said. “All these kids are trying to say is, ‘we want a place to skateboard where no one will get upset with us.’ ”

Times staff writer Bill Billiter contributed to this story.

Riding the Ramps

Skateboarding is the sixth-largest participant sport in the United States, with an estimated 10 million aficionados. On the average, participants skate about 50 days a year.

Age Breakdown

6-11: 43.3%

12-17: 38.5%

18-24: 9.3%

25-34: 6%

35-over: 2.8%

Household Income

Under $15,000: 23.2%

$15,000-24,999: 18%

$25,000-34,999: 19.1%

$35,000-49,999: 20.3%

More than $50,000: 19.4%

Hometown Size

Less than 50,000: 28.6%

50,000-100,000: 23.6%

500,000-2 million: 19.8%

More than 2 million: 28%

Other Skateboard Statistics

Total U.S. skateboarders: 10,071,000

Male: 7,576,000 (75.2%)

Female: 2,495,000 (24.8%)

Average age: 13.8 years

Source: National Skateboard Assn.

Skateboard Ordinances

DANA POINT: In January, the city banned skateboarding, bicycling and roller-skating on private property, when the ban is requested. So far, the ban has been enacted in two shopping centers popular with skateboarders, Pavilion Shopping Center near Dana Point Harbor and La Plaza Park near Coast Highway.

HUNTINGTON BEACH: An ordinance approved in April bans skateboarding in business districts and allows police to cite violators without issuing a complaint.

NEWPORT BEACH: In May, the city banned skateboarding at the Newport Pier and on a number of public streets and sidewalks. The city expects to ban skateboarding and roller-skating in parking lots and other public places next month.

LAGUNA NIGUEL: An ordinance passed in June bans skateboarding, bicycling and roller-skating in commercial areas when requested by business owners.