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Malibu council votes 3–2 to surplus temporary skate park despite residents' pleas
Summary
After hours of public comment and debate over relocation and reuse options, the Malibu City Council approved staff’s plan to declare the temporary wooden skate park surplus and remove it to make way for utilities and the permanent skate facility. Two council members opposed the motion.
Malibu — The City Council voted 3–2 on Aug. 25 to declare the temporary skate park at Malibu Bluffs surplus and allow it to be removed, ending months of public dispute over whether the wooden ramp should be preserved, relocated or demolished.
Residents who use the park urged the council to keep it in place or store it on city land while the permanent concrete skate park is finished. “The kids and the skaters of Malibu shouldn’t suffer just because a GC didn’t figure out their schedule in a timely manner,” resident Darren Graves told the council during the consent-calendar public-comment period.
Staff and the project contractor said underground utilities for restroom, water and electrical lines run beneath the temporary structure and must be installed before the permanent park can be completed. Public works staff outlined a construction schedule showing major concrete work through late November and a potential partial opening in mid-December, with full project completion targeted in January.
Council members debated trade-offs between saving the wooden features and keeping the permanent project on schedule. Councilmember Steve (last name on the record) and other supporters said moving or storing the ramp would require coastal and zoning approvals and could delay a long-awaited permanent facility. Opponents urged gifting the equipment to the skate community or negotiating a sale at nominal cost so young skaters would not lose daily access.
Mayor Riggins announced the tally after roll-call: the motion carried with Councilmembers Urie and Conrad recorded as opposed. Council instructed staff to solicit bids to surplus and, where feasible, salvage or sell components; staff also said they would market the equipment and explore donation or transfer if a willing party can remove it without delaying construction.
The decision follows months of public debate. Several speakers, including Hamish Patterson and Andy Line, urged preservation or storage for reuse. Officials said the temporary wooden ramps—originally intended for two years but extended during COVID and staffing turnover—have been repaired repeatedly and that relocation would trigger coastal development and environmental reviews.
Next steps: staff will initiate the surplus process, advertise the equipment for sale, and attempt to salvage reusable components; the permanent skate park construction schedule will continue as proposed.
