Skateboarders, park fans on collision course

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Ballard business and neighborhood leaders may be asking, "Dude, where's my civic center park?" as they appear to be losing the battle of the Ballard skate bowl.

In that tussle, business and neighborhood leaders are squaring off against the likes of Ryan Camarillo, a bushy-haired 13-year-old wearing knee pads and carrying petitions signed by 4,000 sympathizers. Camarillo is one of the skaters involved in a scruffy but sophisticated political campaign that has won over Mayor Greg Nickels and City Council President Jan Drago.

In siding with the skaters, Nickels and Drago are bucking the Ballard Chamber of Commerce and going against the carefully crafted neighborhood plans calling for a grassy Ballard Civic Center park to go where skaters now swoop around what was supposed to be a temporary bowl.

Parks Department staff members have recommended a park design that calls for demolishing the Ballard bowl. The staff plan would maintain a smaller "street skate" play area. Park construction, including demolition of the Segway building now on the site, would begin in 2005 under the plan.

Nickels says he's convinced the kids are right about the need to save the bowl — and he's been smitten by their foray into civic activism.

"I've been very impressed with the young people advocating for the bowl. They've been very articulate and effective. They haven't just sat back and complained that no one listens," he said.

The mayor also acknowledged that he cringes at demolishing a popular youth facility, built with tax dollars. "That was certainly a consideration, you bet," he added.

The city Parks Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote tonight on the design of the $2.4 million civic-center project and the future of the Ballard skate bowl. The commissioners' recommendation goes to parks superintendent Ken Bounds, who has the final say on the project. Bounds said he expects to make a decision next week.

Difficult decision

It won't be an easy call. On one side are skaters and parents backed by elected honchos who control the Parks Department's budget. On the other side are those who say they were promised a 1.4-acre park — with no skate bowl — that was supposed to be a green oasis amid dense development planned around a new Ballard Civic Center.

Neighborhood activist Stephen Lundgren would like to see a bowl built somewhere else, but he doesn't think his side stands much of a chance in the debate. Still, Lundgren says a pro-bowl outcome will have harmful consequences.

"Greg Nickels is about to disenfranchise a whole lot of community support with his well-intended, 'Hey, cool skate-bowl, dude' attitude," he said.

The big mistake, according to Beth Williamson Miller, executive director of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, was letting skaters construct a temporary bowl two years ago while the civic-center project went through a lengthy design process.

Once skaters built the bowl — which looks like an empty swimming pool — with $20,000 in city grants and lots of volunteer labor, it set the stage for a save-the-bowl movement that was bound to gain traction.

"I had reservations because once you say 'yes' it's hard to say 'no,' " Miller said.

Miller and Lundgren, chairman of the Ballard Civic Center Steering Committee, argue that the neighborhood planning process should be respected even though it is legally nonbinding.

In addition, Lundgren says the skate bowl will cost more to maintain than the city can afford, given its continuing budget constraints.

All the right moves

But bowl opponents have run up against a volunteer coalition of skaters and parents who seem to have taken all the right steps. They've met with elected officials, participated in community cleanups, packed public meetings, carried on an Internet-savvy campaign and have done a noise study showing that the skate bowl is no louder than a nearby loading dock.

They've also been aided by Kelly O'Neill, a public-relations professional, who describes herself as "40-something" in age.

Along the way, the bowl advocates have defied stereotypes of skaters as independent outcasts who don't like team efforts, never mind time-consuming lobbying campaigns.

"The face of skateboarding has changed. It's become more mainstream, and a lot of us have matured and become adults with jobs," said Matt Johnston, a 33-year-old former Microsoft employee who conducted the noise study for skater advocates.

The Ballard campaign has been "almost freakish" in intensity, Johnston says. He attributes the passion to several factors. First, there's only one other public skate park in the city, at Seattle Center. Second, it's easy for people to sympathize with the idea of saving a facility from the wrecking ball. And third, a real community has grown around the Ballard bowl.

"One reason a community exists is because the bowl is accessible and in a respectable part of town," he added.

Shawn Bishop, 25, agrees. "It's like a safe haven. The atmosphere is positive. There's no loud music or alcohol," Bishop said.

Ryan Camarillo, the 13-year old who collected 1,500 signatures, said he would be surprised if the bowl survives. If it does, Camarillo said he would come away from his first activist experience with an important lesson:

"I guess it means the public actually does have a say if you fight for what you want," he said. "I would get more involved in things because I know that I can make a difference."

Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com