Goleta Skateboarding Movement (GSM) advocates made headway last week in their ongoing efforts to construct a permanent skate park in Isla Vista. About a dozen skaters attended a board meeting at the Isla Vista Recreation and Park District and convinced the boardmembers to refrain from utilizing the west side of Perfect Park — located at the intersection of Embarcadero del Mar and Embarcadero del Norte — for a parking lot.
Boardmembers had entertained the idea of utilizing the space for parking and installing 14 spots to generate roughly $10,000 a year, money that the district could use to fix broken fences and restore bathrooms — an $80,000 project — at Anisq’Oyo’ Park. But after back and forth between trustees and audience members — one claimed he has participated in efforts to get a permanent skate park in I.V. since 1989 — the board moved to keep the space unoccupied until enough funds could be secured to develop a permanent park. Trustees acknowledged the ongoing desire for a skate park but also mentioned the “dollars and cents” issue and that they have civil responsibility to keep up public spaces in Isla Vista.
Per the compromise, the east side of Perfect Park and Estero Park will be utilized as a parking lot, generating monthly permit money from 12 spots. Twenty percent of those proceeds will be set aside to add to funds to create a new park — an action that is more of a morale booster than actual moneymaker for the skaters.