Oxnard deputy city attorney recommends ordinance requiring helmets, pads at city skate parks

Mira Saleh, deputy city attorney for Oxnard City, recommended that the City Council introduce by title only and waive further reading of an ordinance to add Article 28 to Chapter 7 of the Oxnard City Code to regulate city-owned skate park facilities. “The purpose of this proposed ordinance is public safety,” Saleh said.

Saleh said the proposal was drafted in anticipation of a council-approved skate park project in Colonia. Under the proposed ordinance, anyone riding a skateboard or other wheeled recreational device at a facility owned or operated by Oxnard City would be required to wear a helmet, elbow pads and knee pads; the city would be required to post signs stating those requirements.

The deputy city attorney summarized existing law and why the ordinance is being proposed. She said state law provides qualified immunity to public agencies and public employees for injuries suffered during hazardous recreational activities if certain conditions are met, and that skateboarding at a city-owned facility is categorized under that law when additional requirements are satisfied. Saleh described those conditions as including a rule that a person 12 years of age or older engaged in a stunt, trick, or lug riding be prohibited from riding unless wearing a helmet, elbow pads and kneepads, and that the agency provide reasonable notice by posted signs.

Saleh listed the specific provisions included in the draft ordinance: - No person may enter skate park facilities outside the posted hours of operation. - Every person under the age of 12 using skate parks must be supervised by a parent or guardian and must wear a helmet, elbow pads and knee pads. - No person may place, position, erect, or use outside equipment, obstacles, ramps, rails or similar devices at skateboard parks. - Operation of motorized vehicles, motorized scooters, e-bikes, motorized bicycles, bicycles or motorcycles on or about the skateboard park is prohibited. - Any person injured at a skate park must report the injury to city personnel and complete an injury report form.

Saleh said the ordinance would make failure to comply subject to immediate eviction from skate parks and/or citation and prosecution as an infraction, and that the city would be required to post the regulations on appropriate signage at skate parks.

The transcript records Saleh’s recommendation to introduce the ordinance by title only and to waive further reading, but does not record a council vote or formal action on the recommendation. Saleh said questions could be directed to the city attorney’s office.