Plans for temporary and permanent skateparks have stalled as proposed sites are considered, but Ramona Municipal Water District officials say they are pushing ahead to find ways to get them built.
The long-awaited permanent skatepark project was recently delayed while an alternate site at St. Mary’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church was studied and then rejected. Progress is expected to resume with two meetings in May now that Ramona Community Park has been identified as the most suitable site for both proposed skateparks.
Ramona Community Planning Group unanimously agreed in December 2024 to update the Park Land Dedication Ordinance (PLDO) priority list, and to commit at least $2.2 million of the funds to build a skatepark at Ramona Community Park.
PLDO funds are collected from developers when they build new projects in a community, and can be used to acquire parkland or to construct new or rehabilitate existing park and recreational facilities.
But Tracy Engel, president of the skatepark advocacy nonprofit Ramona Skatepark Champions, has said that Ramona Community Park, which is owned by the water district, is outside of town and not a location that kids can easily get to by themselves after school.
“It is the furthest distance from the biggest group of multi-unit residential housing that is all the way on the other side of town, making the kids who need it most to have to ride bikes and skateboards all the way across town, using backroads and no sidewalks, or on dangerous Main Street,” Engel had said in an email in December.
A location Engel considers more desirable — at the Ramona Intergenerational Community Campus (RICC) near Ramona Library and the new Ramona Community Resource Center at 12th and Main streets — was once considered as a potential skatepark site, but those plans have been delayed.
Erika Wolski, general manager of the water district, said they looked into another alternative skatepark site at St. Mary’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church, at 1010 12th St. off San Vicente Road. The church is currently collaborating with three other churches on starting up a teen program.
Located near Ramona High School, the site would have access to crosswalks and sidewalks connecting the property to the high school and is conveniently located near Olive Peirce Middle and Montecito High, Wolski said.
But the main drawback is the restrictions on how the PLDO funds can be spent, she said.
In order to use the $2.2 million in PLDO funds, Wolski said the land being considered for a skatepark has to be owned by a public agency. That would enable the county of San Diego to enter into a required t exercise of powers agreement, or JEPA, she said.
“So that limits the location to special district land, school district land, state and federal land,” Wolski said in an email. “If we pursued the (location near the high school), we would have had to solicit other funds for design and construction. So that option got removed from consideration about a month ago.”
With a renewed focus on building the skatepark at Ramona Community Park, water district officials are focusing on getting the temporary skatepark set up.
On May 13 the water district board is tentatively scheduled to review a proposal to build a concrete slab for a temporary skatepark at the park near Aqua Lane. The cost of a slab to pop-up skatepark equipment is estimated at $90,000, Wolski said.
“We are looking to shift some items around in our park budget this year or next fiscal year to get this paid for,” she said, referring to the next July 1 to June 30 fiscal year budget. “However, we are also soliciting donations to help reduce the cost.”
The permanent skatepark on Aqua Lane is planned near the Ramona Senior Center/Ramona Community Center, officials said.
The temporary skatepark could be open year-round, officials said. The Ramona Skatepark Champions’ free seasonal pop-up skatepark, which now operates at the Coldwell Banker parking lot at 2130 Main St., is open from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays through June.
Ramona Skatepark Champions formed in 2014 and started pop-up skateparks in 2018. The skatepark has been at three different locations since then, Engel said.
She said she is hopeful that the water district will have their temporary skatepark open seven days a week this summer, Engel said.
“It’s kind of what we are left with,” she said. “The county has pushed off the RICC skatepark. They have not said ‘no,’ they have just pushed it off a couple of years. So the water district thinks they can get it done faster. The county will let the water district win the race, I’m sure.”
“It’s feeling more hopeful to me for sure,” Engel said. “The Ramona Community Park has the best chance for success.”
Wolski said she and others from the water district are working with one of the existing park s on plans to install the concrete slab in a shaded, fenced area this summer.
“This will allow for a temporary skatepark until the permanent one can be built,” she said. “Then after the permanent skatepark is built, the could continue to use the concrete slab as part of their facility.”
A full report about the water district’s plans for installing a temporary skatepark at the park is expected to be presented at the district’s Parks and Recreation Community Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting on May 20.
CAC plan to discuss establishing rules for the skatepark, which would need to be adopted by the full water district board, Wolski said.
“Hopefully, we can get the rules adopted at our June board meeting and have signs printed,” she said. “We also need to enter into an agreement with the park that is letting us use part of their rented space.”
Meanwhile, water district officials are looking at ways to make it safer for kids to cross Main Street or streets without sidewalks while walking, skateboarding or bicycling to the park. Ideas include making A Street and Aqua Lane more walkable, and potentially creating a crosswalk on Fifth Street with the cooperation of Caltrans, Wolski said.
