City officials originally proposed locating the skate park in the ACT V remote parking lot on Laguna Canyon Road. (This was at a time when the council had decided not to relocate the city's corporation yard from Forest Avenue downtown to the canyon.)
However, during lease negotiations with the Festival of Arts, a city representative dangled the possibility of moving the tennis courts to ACT V as a bargaining chip. The YMCA was informed that the site was not available for their project, even though time and money had been spent on a concept plan for the site. Of course, the tennis courts never were moved, but by then the YMCA was already working on a concept for a new site "suggested" by the council: sharing the Bark Park.
That went over well.
In 2004, the council voted 3-1 to ask Caltrans to review the safety of entrances and exits from the Bark Park and the city-owned Big Bend parcel nearby.
On the advice of then-Mayor Steven Dicterow, YMCA officials declined to modify the agreement to include Big Bend and, as of February 2006, were concentrating on the dog park.
That fell apart when Verizon proved unenthusiastic about allowing public access over its bridge, at the opposite end of the park from the pet entry. Verizon offered to sell the bridge to the city for $100,000, on the condition that the city create a public street that would provide access to the remainder of the Verizon property and to the proposed skateboard park.
Not happening.
City officials voted to require the YMCA to resolve the access issue — is that a euphemism or what? — because the costs would exceed the city's commitment.
"We have been bounced around," said disappointed YMCA spokesman Nokes.
