Encinitas should build a skate bowl at Moonlight Beach to celebrate the city’s history as a skateboarding Mecca and create what could be a sport photographer’s dream image, proponents say.
Three skateboarders — all in their 60s — made a pitch for the project to the city’s Parks & Recreation Commission on Tuesday night as a crowd of supporters cheered them on.
“This is going to be the most photographed spot in Southern California, I would guess,” project proponent Barry Blumenthal said as he described the optics of the proposed site, which would have ocean waves and the iconic Moonlight Beach palm tree in the background.
They’re estimating that their privately funded bowl project would cost $1.2 million to construct. The bowl would cover 6,000 to 7,000 square feet, and could be used by up to 12 people at a time. They’re proposing to put it along the northern edge of the Moonlight Beach area, where several palm-fronded shade structures once stood.
Other than a skate bowl along the sand at Venice Beach, there’s nothing like this proposal in Southern California, Blumental said. Moonlight Beach, he continued, has an extra advantage over Venice Beach because it has a hilltop parking area with bird’s eye views of the beach.
Doug Marker, a former pro skater, told the commissioners that if the city used part of Moonlight Beach for a skate bowl that would show the world that Encinitas is incredibly proud of its heritage as the birthplace of many world-famous skateboarders, including Tony Hawk. There is a skate bowl at the city’s skatepark at Encinitas Community Park, but only skateboarders see what goes on there — the proposed beachfront location would give the general public a window into the amazing feats of the athletes, both he and Blumental stressed.
“Picture the best skaters in the world flying overhead in this bowl,” Blumental said.
Parks & Recreation Chair Ross Ridder told them that he definitely could visualize how this would be a “photographer’s dream.” However, he cautioned, obtaining permission to build on their proposed site will be far from easy.
“I do feel like you have a high uphill challenge with this particular location,” he said.
Issues he raised, included:
- Drainage troubles are a longstanding problem at Moonlight Beach, at least two drain pipes run through the area, and climate change is likely to make this situation worse.
- Beach parking is already in short supply in the summer and adding an attraction would add to this issue.
- The proponents’ proposal to fund their project by granting naming rights to the bowl would be a hard sell in Encinitas. In 2016, the City Council rejected a request to rename the library in exchange for a $2 million donation, he noted.
- Also, while Moonlight Beach is managed by the city, it’s actually owned by the state, and thus building on the site would require an extensive permitting process with state and city involvement.
“Getting permits can be challenging, getting permits at a beach is even harder,” Ridder noted.
He also mentioned that he had first-hand experience with the challenges of trying to put a small project in the beach region, saying that long ago he explored putting an outdoor fitness course there, but that didn’t work out because of wetland issues. Perhaps, the skaters could consider building a second bowl at Encinitas Community Park instead of at Moonlight Beach, he suggested.
Blumental, Marker and fellow proponent David Skinner told him that they want to push forward with their dream location. They asked for city parks department employees’ help in communicating with state officials. That request would require City Council approval, city parks employees told them.
They would seek that next, they responded. Blumental mentioned that the city obtained permission from the state years ago to put a playground at Moonlight Beach, so there should be a process that they could duplicate.
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