A proposal to add a skateboarding feature to Cardiff’s Glen Park sparked debate about an Encinitas City Council rule amid community criticism of the idea Wednesday, April 8.
The council-initiated item, brought forward by Councilmember Luke Shaffer and ultimately tabled during the council meeting, called for a feasibility study on incorporating a skate element within the existing neighborhood park. Had it been approved, city staff members would have been directed to evaluate potential locations within the park, develop preliminary designs, estimate costs and conduct community outreach before returning to the council with recommendations.
As several Cardiff residents who live near Glen Park criticized the out-of-the-blue nature of the proposal, the item highlighted a process that Mayor Bruce Ehlers said should be reviewed and perhaps revised.
“This is not an item that was brought to council by staff. It wasn’t brought to by a majority. It wasn’t on an agenda. It literally is a council-initiated item,” Ehlers explained during public discussion about the proposal, saying that longtime City Council policy allows for such items to be brought forth. “And that’s why it appears like it came out of nowhere, because in a way it did. And that is a right up here.”
According to Policy C003-C, any City Council member can add a self-initiated item to a meeting agenda as long the topic is proposed a week before the scheduled meeting. Such an item is prepared by the council member and does not require staff time. In addition, such items are not reviewed by the mayor or city manager ahead of their submission.
That “out of nowhere” concern was partly what frustrated Councilmember Joy Lyndes, whose District 3 area includes Cardiff. Shaffer represents District 1, which covers Leucadia and other northern portions of the city.
“This is a very sensitive location,” Lyndes said of Glen Park during the meeting, “and this approach has been tone deaf to what this community’s concerns are.”
Lyndes said that she supports the idea of adding skate features to city parks, but Glen Park was not an appropriate location and residents felt blindsided by Shaffer’s member-initiated proposal.
“This was not brought to my attention before it was brought here on this agenda,” she said. “I just want to call that out as, this is not how we should be doing business. What it’s done, unfortunately, is weakened trust in our community.”
The resulting controversy led Ehlers to call for a future discussion on revising the policy.
“We’re going to revise this. I think we need to fix this. I think it’s broken,” he said during the meeting. “But we’ll get back to that at a future council agenda, fixing how we do initiatives.”
Ultimately, Shaffer’s original item was tabled in favor of a motion by District 2 Councilmember Jim O’Hara to launch a broader community discussion on where to place a new skate feature in a city park, although he favored Glen Park as that location.
Lyndes seconded the motion, with a 4-1 vote to place the idea on a future agenda, tentatively set for Wednesday, May 13. Ehlers voted no.
The addition of a skate feature at Glen Park might face an uphill battle from nearby residents in future discussions, however. Shaffer’s member-initiated proposal drew more than 100 written comments and about 20 attendees requesting time to speak, many against the idea.
Cardiff residents living near the park cited its history of drainage and parking issues, traffic on tight streets, and amplified noise from the park’s bowl-like location below the neighborhood where it’s located.
“I would like to understand how this council settled on Glen Park as the location for this new skate feature … given the site’s known challenges with drainage and acoustics, and the apparent lack of community input,” resident Arielle Golden told the council during public comments.
Golden said that a proposal for placing pickleball courts at Glen Park was rejected partly because of the location’s acoustics.
Resident Ellen Burr expressed concern that the installation of a skate feature could interfere with Americans With Disabilities Act improvements now underway at the park.
In written comments, resident Deborah LeCuyer said she was supportive of skate parks in general but questioned the suitability of the location, also noting that Glen Park sits in a residential area where noise “coming from the Park is amplified and is carried at least five blocks in all directions.”
LeCuyer added that parking is already limited and can become strained during peak use.
Longtime Encinitas residents and skateboarding enthusiasts Barry Blumenthal and David Skinner encouraged the council to place a skate feature at Glen Park, citing the inspiration, camaraderie and fitness it offers to youths and adults alike.
Blumenthal said a bowl feature would not be as large as residents might fear.
“Glen Park is a perfect spot because of its location, the beautiful tree canopies, and the view of the ocean,” he said during public comments. “And when you talk about a bowl, you’re really talking about a swimming pool in a 1970s backyard.”
Skinner said that features at parks in Encinitas and other nearby cities have been successful community attractions without causing trouble.
He explained that such features can be similar in size to a basketball court, which Glen Park already has — and he mentioned which feature he believed sees more activity based on what he witnesses at Encinitas’ Olympus Park, which has a skateboarding feature.
“I can tell you, I’m there a lot, I can tell you which one gets used all the time. And it’s not the basketball court,” he told the council.
Glen Park’s current recreational athletic facilities include courts for basketball, tennis, volleyball and horseshoes. The park is located 2149 Orinda Drive, just off San Elijo Avenue.
Encinitas has 19 parks ranging in size form smaller community spaces to larger dedicated sports fields and other facilities.
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