Malibu Skateboarding Ban Is Much Broader than It First Appeared to Be

BY BILL KOENEKER

Local skateboarders, who were assured by the city spinmeisters that the ordinance banning the sport only applied to steep mountain roads in the city, may be surprised to learn the ban as finally codified is a lot broader in scope.
Even a quick reading of the summary of Ordinance 334 approved by the Malibu City Council two weeks ago will prove so.
The city attorney, with the council concurrence, expanded the ban to include any public facility, but what that turns out to mean in the lexicon of law is far more widespread that many adherents of the sport might have thought.
The city now says that public facilities include buildings, parks, plazas, courtyards, parking lot walkways, paths, loading docks or any public utilities.
“The ordinance would also prohibit skateboarding in any roadway (except designated bike paths or lanes) and on any ramp designed to afford access for disabled persons, as well as skateboarding in any manner that constitutes a nuisance, or is inherently dangerous. Additionally, the ordinance would allow owners of private property to request that the city council declare their property ‘No Skateboarding Zones,’” states the legal notice with a summary of Ordinance 334.
Two weeks ago, the council passed the skateboarding ban that many people thought only had to do with the steep mountain roads where skateboarders, also known as speedboarders, have been gaining extensive media attention that resulted in the municipality’s insurer asking for a law to diminish the city’s liability if accidents or untoward incidents took place.