> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Santa Monica is skate friendly - URL: https://www.smdp.com/santa-monica-is-skate-friendly/ - Published: 2007-04-21T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T00:37:06.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Business, Main St, #archive-import It’s a phrase about Santa Monica that dates back to the ’70s, but is being tossed around liberally these days with efforts underway to save the Z-Boys’ old skate shop on Main Street. Still, with the city’s lone public skate park charging fees and situated next to a popular police hangout, is the city really friendly to its skateboarders? Santa Monica and skateboarding became synonymous after a bunch of teenagers rocked the skateboarding world in the 1970s, introducing the aggressive style of boarding that has come to define the sport. The exact location credited with sparking the rebirth of skateboarding is the old Zephyr and Jeff Ho Productions shop at 2011 Main Street, a building currently being considered for Landmark status. On Thursday night, Noah Lewkow and a couple of his buddies arrived at The Cove Skatepark off Olympic Avenue around 9 p.m. to grind it out in the bowl, only to find the park closed to skateboarders. It was a bikes only session. Located in Memorial Park, the skate park was completely empty at the late hour, but the staff would not admit Lewkow and company, he said on Friday, while unloading skateboards for his job as a buyer at ZJ Boarding House in Ocean Park. Considered a world class facility for skating, “The Cove” has become a favorite among Santa Monica skaters since it opened in 2005\. But the biggest complaint the diehard skaters have with the public park, a gripe that might keep them from returning, is the price of admission. “The pricing is lame,” said Ian Edwards, a seven-year skateboarder who works at ZJ Boarding House. “Most city parks are free.” On top of an annual registration fee of $10, Santa Monica resident youths pay $20 quarterly, while non-resident youths pay an annual registration fee of $15 and a quarterly pass of $35. Resident adults pay $15 for registration and $35 quarterly, while non-resident adults are charged an annual registration fee of $20 and a quarterly pass of $45. The city offers subsidies for residents who cannot pay the full fee. “The biggest gripe, as a shop owner, I hear is that it’s expensive,” said Jim McDowell, part-owner of Rip City on Santa Monica Boulevard. “The average kid can hardly afford it and I think they should review the cost. It should be a nominal fee or free altogether.” Many Southern California skate parks charge no admission, according to Mike Hirsch, who created a Web site with a list of all local parks where he has skated over the past 30 years. The site (www.socal-skateparks.com) lists The Cove as one of the top-10 skate parks in Southern California. Having skated in more than 100 parks, Hirsch believes that The Cove would attract a larger following if the admission was lowered or eliminated. Many skaters opt to take a ride to Glendale or Encino, which both offer free skate parks. > “The birthplace of modern skateboarding.” — CITYWIDE THE KIDS THAT GO TO THE SKATE PARK LOVE IT WITH A CAPITAL L.” Jim McDowell. Owner, Rip City “The park would have a much better vibe and be much more vibrant if they would (make it free),” he said. He cited the Etnies Skate Park in Lake Forest as an example of how the city of Santa Monica could maintain supervision and upkeep of The Cove without charging admission. The city of Lake Forest has created a partnership with shoemaker Etnies in keeping its skate park running successfully. One of the main reasons why the city decided to implement a fee schedule was in order to have the resources to monitor the park at all times, said Rich Rollins, principal community services supervisor for the city of Santa Monica. “There are some skate parks that charge a fee and there are some skate parks that don’t charge a fee,” Rollins said. “We are not unique in that respect.” Aside from the price, most skaters who do use The Cove Skatepark seem to enjoy the different pools customized for varying skill levels. The park accommodates skaters of all ages, from the newcomers to the teenagers to the veterans well into their 50s. “The kids that go to the skate park love it with a capital L,” McDowell said. The ZJ Boarding House team usually opts for the longer drive to the skate park in Hawthorne, rather than the short trip to The Cove. Aside from the price, the Hawthorne skate park is not monitored as frequently, giving skaters the freedom not to wear their helmets or pads. The terrain is also more diverse than The Cove, Lewkow said. Bicyclists are also allowed in the same pool as the skaters. Relative to other California cities, such as San Diego and San Francisco, Santa Monica is one of the most skateboarding friendly cities, Lewkow said. Just a few blocks down from ZJ’s Main Street site is the legendary sand gaps on Santa Monica Beach — legendary because it is considered to be the only place in LA County where skateboard-ers can grind without fear of persecution from local law enforcement. In Pomona where Lewkow attends Cal Poly Pomona, skateboarding is banned city-wide. In San Diego and San Francisco, skate-boarders are constantly stopped and cited by law enforcement, he added. There are very few locations in Santa Monica that have installed skate stoppers to prevent skateboarders from riding on benches and banisters. One of the few locations is the new Santa Monica Public Library in Downtown Santa Monica. In San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, nearly every ledge has a skate stopper. “San Francisco is almost anti-skateboard-er,” Lewkow said. Santa Monica has very lenient rules when it comes to skateboarding, to the point where there are almost no rules. Skateboarding is prohibited on the Third Street Promenade, on the bike path and on the street. Grinding isn’t even necessarily outlawed, according to Lt. Alex Padilla of the Santa Monica Police Department. “It’s discouraged because of the damage they cause,” Padilla said. “Some residents and businesses will call us because they don’t want (skaters) damaging property.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 21, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/042107.pdf?ref=smdp.com)