That the City Council receive and file this report and direct staff to initiate a process to make amendments to La Habra Municipal Code Section 12.29.020 regarding certain rules and regulations at the La Habra Skate Park.

At the February 20, 2024 City Council meeting, in response to issues raised by skate park patrons, the City Council requested that staff research skate park rules and regulations in surrounding communities, how they are enforced in those cities (i.e. on-site security or staff monitoring), how they compare to rules and regulations in La Habra, and report back to the Council regarding the results.

BACKGROUND
Over the years, the City of La Habra has assigned intermittent staffing at its only municipal skate facility located at La Bonita Park.  However, since July 20, 2020, the City has contracted with a private security firm to provide daily on-site security. The on-site security guard has been responsible to enforce all requirements of California Health and Safety Code Section 115800 and the City's Municipal code regarding safety equipment at the skate park. The provision of a security guard has helped deter illegal activities at the Skate Park and surrounding area, and staff has noted a reduction in graffiti, vandalism, fights, and drug use. In fact, with the combination of on-site security and the installation of security cameras, the La Habra Police Department reports that there has been an approximate 25 percent reduction in calls for service to the Skate Park. After the security guard was in place, staff noticed an initial increase in young skaters and families visiting the Skate Park; however, it appears that there are now fewer overall patrons visiting the Skate Park, especially fewer teenage and adult skaters.

In February 2023, the City Council approved a plan to maintain private security staffing at the La Habra Skate Park from 1 p.m to 8 p.m. each day of the week. Staff explained that the presence of on-site staffing at the Skate Park requires the City to enforce State of California requirements as it relates to the Health and Safety Code surrounding the use of safety equipment, such as helmets. During that meeting several speakers requested that the City Council remove the City's requirements for the use of safety equipment, especially helmets, at the La Habra Skate Park; however, staff clarified that the safety rules in place for public skate parks were established by the State of California and that the City was responsible to post those rules, and to enforce them if staff was on site. If a skate park is unstaffed, skate park patrons are expected to follow the posted rules and regulations.

At the City Council meeting of February 20, 2024, skate park patrons once again voiced their concerns regarding the regulations at the skate park, asking the City Council to remove the City's requirements for the use of safety equipment, such as helmets. During public comments, speakers asserted that the La Habra Skate Park is the only skate park in the area that mandates the use of safety equipment, including helmets and elbow/knee pads, in order to utilize the facility. Speakers further alleged that, due to the strict enforcement of safety equipment, many La Habra skateboarders patronized other skating facilities in surrounding communities where safety rules were not being enforced, including the cities of Brea, Whittier, Tustin, and La Puente. 

Based on the direction provided by City Council at that meeting, staff has:

As a result of this research, staff learned that LHMC Section 12.29 was first adopted by the City Council by Urgency Ordinance No. 1608 on April 15, 2002. That code section requires the posting of signs that notify skate park users that safety gear is required by law and that violations of the posted rules and regulations may result in penalties at the discretion of the municipality. Furthermore, staff confirmed that signage regarding rules and regulations is mandated by California Health and Safety Code Section 115800, which extends qualified immunity to public agencies for injuries that may occur at public skate parks, as long as those agencies adopt an ordinance and posts signage with specific language indicating the requirements for the use of safety equipment. According to Section 115800, this signage must also indicate that a failure to follow the established rules may include personal injury, citation, and immunity to the City for any incidents that may occur.

Staff then contacted the supervisors of public skate parks in the region and confirmed that La Habra is currently the only local municipal skate park that is supervised, and is therefore the only skate park that actively enforces safety equipment requirements. All other cities that were contacted indicated that they have signage posted that is very similar to that of La Habra, requiring safety equipment. Staff also found that these other cities either did not have security patrolling the park and the park was operated as a "skate at your own risk" facility, or the park in general was monitored for illegal activity only (i.e. drug use or fighting), and not specifically for skate park supervision. Based on these findings, it appears that the use of security or staffing at the La Habra Skate Park is different than how other cities in the area operate, and because of the onsite security or staffing, La Habra is somewhat unique in that it actively enforces safety requirements when staffing is present.

The summary of key findings between cities are below: 
 

It should be noted that, as a result of significant budget challenges facing the City in FY 24-25, staff proposed that the private security services for the La Habra Skate Park be terminated starting in the upcoming fiscal year. This information was presented to the City Council at the budget presentation held on June 3, 2024, and will be included in the final budget for Council consideration. If the budget is approved as proposed, the City will terminate the security agreement at the Skate Park effective July 1, 2024.
 

As noted above, staff has recently noticed a reduced level of attendance by patrons to the La Habra Skate Park. This could be attributed to the fact that the City has been actively enforcing safety regulations, but also could be due to the fact that the City prohibits other types of uses at the Skate Park, such as unpowered scooters or bicycles. While the City's municipal code currently allows skateboards, roller skates and roller blades at the Skate Park, unpowered push scooters are not allowed, despite being very popular with many enthusiasts. In addition, the LHMC prohibits food or beverages from being brought inside the Skate Park at all times. While the rule regarding food was intended to help keep the Skate Park clean, many of the Park's patrons (and occasionally parents) continue to bring drinks and snacks with them, making this rule challenging to enforce. Lastly, the LHMC requires that the operational hours of the Park be set by City Council resolution, which does not allow for staff to easily modify hours of operation on a seasonal basis, or when circumstances dictate that the hours should be changed due to an increase in graffiti, fighting, or other illegal activity. Although the Code does allow the Director of Community Services or the Director of Public Works to change the rules of the Park at any time, the removal of the current code requirement of setting Park hours by resolution would allow the Director of Community Services or his/her designee to have more flexibility to modify park hours as necessary.

In conclusion and in order to better meet the needs of the skating community, staff recommends that the City Council consider amending the LHMC to:

If approved by City Council, the process to make these recommended changes will involve providing legal notice and holding a public hearing with two readings of the amendments being proposed. If the amendments are approved by City Council following the public hearing, they will take effect 30 days after that approval. In addition, staff will ensure that all changes to Skate Park rules and regulations are included on new signage that will be created and installed at the Skate Park.

The termination of the security contract for the Skate Park is estimated to save the City General Fund approximately $80,000 per year; however based on past experience, it is very likely that there will be increased costs related to Police patrols/response, and for maintenance and repairs due to vandalism and graffiti. It is possible that the City could retain a security guard service agreement in the future that could provide fewer hours of service per day at a lower overall annual cost, but that cost would need to be determined, and a new funding appropriation would need to be secured. Also, reintroduction of a security guard would once again require the City to actively enforce safety regulations, which has been an issue of contention with some in the skating community.

There is no cost associated with amending the LHMC to allow unpowered scooters in the Skate Park, to eliminate restrictions on the use of food or drink in the Skate Park, or to allow the Director of Community Services to set operational hours; however, there will be a nominal cost to fabricate and install new signage showing any new or changed rules and regulations.