Scheafer pushes for skate park decision

Deirdre Newman

Councilman Mike Scheafer has jump-started discussion of a skate park

in the hope of identifying a viable site by Labor Day.

To at least have a preliminary plan by that time, Scheafer invited

skate park advocates to participate in a discussion with city

officials on possible park dimensions at various, yet still

undisclosed, locations.

Plans for a skate park have dragged on for more than a decade,

with skate park fans having their hopes raised and dashed many times.

The latest frustration occurred in July when competition arose over a

site at TeWinkle Park.

But the meeting on July 30 rejuvenated the skate park advocates’

outlook and gave them more than a shred of hope that a site will be

found soon.

“It was refreshing,” skate park supporter Jim Gray said. “It was

probably the first time when we discussed that there is more than one

site in the city that could work, instead of chasing one site and

hoping to God they’ll work on another one if [the first one] doesn’t

work.”

Last November, the Costa Mesa parks commission endorsed a

recreation master plan that listed a skate park as the No. 1

recreational need in the city. They also created a Skateboard Park

Planning Team to conduct more research.

A skate park in TeWinkle Park and an alternative site were

included in the TeWinkle Park Master Plan. But both have hit

obstacles.

The master plan originally proposed a 20,000-square-foot

skateboard park at Davis Elementary School. Installing it there

raised red flags among some commissioners, staff at the school and

Newport-Mesa Unified school board members, leading city staff to

consider removing it as an option, said Steve Hayman, the city’s

director of administrative services, in June.

So skate park fans set their sights on another area east of

Junipero Drive along Arlington Avenue. But Bark Park fans are also

eyeing that site for an expansion. Consideration of that area is

expected to come before the Parks and Recreation Commission later

this month.

Scheafer said his discussion with the skate park advocates was

independent of this alternative site.

“We’re going to look at the parks we looked at years ago and see

if any of those work and take a look at some other sites,” Scheafer

said, emphasizing that the city is looking for the place where a park

would fit best.

Gray said they discussed five or six different plots of land, but

that officials kept mum on the actual locations, leaving him and

fellow skate park enthusiast Paul Schmitt in suspense. Gray said he

would have liked to know more.

“I wish we were a little more involved in where they’re working

at,” Gray said. “All we can do is say, ‘Yes, it would fit into a

[certain size] lot,’ but we’re not sure if it will affect the

neighbors.”

Gray said skate park advocates would continue to fight for the

site at TeWinkle Park, as well.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.