Skate park plans on hold

COSTA MESA — The City Council voted to hold off on plans for a skate park at Lions Park Tuesday, after hearing from residents who said it would pave over valuable green space and should be built where it can be bigger.

While there was no consensus on a location, everyone at the meeting seemed to agree that Costa Mesa needs at least one more skate park, and several suggested a world-class, multi-use park that would serve BMX bikers and skaters of all skill levels.

Council members voted 3-2 to put off hiring a design firm until October, when they’ll discuss putting a smaller skating area in at Lions Park and adding a large skate park and dog exercise area at Fairview Park.

Councilman Eric Bever and Mayor Allan Mansoor cast the dissenting votes.

“I don’t believe anybody up here is disputing that we need a second skate park,” said Councilwoman Linda Dixon, who wanted to hear more from neighbors of Lions Park before going ahead. “I don’t believe Lions Park is the opportune place for a skate park.”

To address some of the concerns, the council scaled back the proposed skateboard facility from 25,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet or fewer, and the city won’t tear out the picnic shelter, tot lot or airplane play area to build it.

Residents who live near Lions Park persuaded the council in 1999 not to put a skate park there, and this time around they worried about traffic and losing some of the already-limited grassy public area in their part of town.

“I feel it is unfair to take away the only park on the southwest side,” Trish Camacho said. “We have no problem with skate parks — we just don’t want to shoehorn one in at the expense of all the other amenities at the park.”

Members of the Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club also have questioned the choice of the park, particularly since they use the picnic shelter there for their annual fish fry.

They worried they’d have to move out of Lions Park, which they think would mean the end of their long-running event.

“Yeah, it’s only one weekend a year, but it’s a tradition,” Lions club member Mike Scheafer said. “We would dearly love to continue the fish fry at Lions Park.”

Council members are interested in Fairview Park as a skate park spot, but skate park boosters prefer Lions Park because it’s close to transportation, food and other attractions.

“It was originally not chosen because the first skate park was a hot potato that nobody wanted to deal with,” said Jim Gray, who owns a skateboard manufacturing company in town and is a skateboarder. “I’d still like to see something built there.”

People on both sides of the issue may be at least partially satisfied.

Council members allowed 45 days to reconsider the Lions Park plan and hear from the community, but they also seemed interested — even the two who dissented — in building some sort of facility there.

The community will have more chances for input when the council takes up the issue in October, and public workshops will be a part of any contract with a skate park design firm.

ALICIA ROBINSON may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at alicia.robinson@latimes.com.