VISTA — Professional skateboarder Evandro Mancha and his family have enjoyed having a 17-foot vertical skate ramp in their Vista backyard for the past decade, operating the recreational structure without meaningful local regulations — until now.
The Vista City Council on Feb. 14 unanimously approved city code amendments related to skate ramps over 6 feet tall, restricting them to the city’s agricultural, estate and single-family residential zones and requiring owners to obtain minor use permits from the Planning Commission beginning March 16.
Existing skate ramp owners like Mancha and his wife Courtney Menezes will have until March 2024 to obtain a minor use permit for the structure. A 12-month amortization period will be in place from the time the ordinance takes effect, with the option of waiving the $3,300 permit fee if they apply within the first 90 days.
According to city staff, the ordinance came before the council after months of complaints about noise, parking issues and view blockage from neighboring residents to homes with ramps.
The city’s planning commission first discussed the issue in October and, in January, created an ordinance that was forwarded to the council for approval.
Mancha, who has been skating for around 35 years, said the backyard ramp allows people of all ages to explore vert skateboarding with encouragement and supervision. Kids from the neighborhood, as well as his friends’ kids, come over to try out the ramps, he said.
“There’s not that many [vert] ramps out there, so I try to pass on my knowledge as much as I can. The only way to keep that alive is to provide the opportunity for those skaters to ride the ramp and see if they can progress,” he said.
Menezes said she Mancha worked hard to responsibly build and manage their two skate ramps — the 17-foot tall one they brought over from the Encinitas YMCA- and a smaller 4-foot-tall ramp. They reached out to the city when they first constructed the ramps over 10 years ago to make sure it was legal and received the blessing of surrounding neighbors at the time.
However, she said they understand that it is an unusual structure and the city’s desire to create regulations.
“Out of respect for our investment and in honor of our efforts to help control noise and maintain privacy, and the fact that both ramps in question have been in existence for more than 10 years each, our preference would be, of course, not to amend the existing code,” Menezes told the city council on Feb. 14. “However … we are aware it’s an unusual structure, and we do fully understand the desire to add some guidelines.”
Several residents at the meeting said these large ramps are still a nuisance even with mitigation measures like screening and sound infrastructure. Tony Hutchison and his wife Alicia, who live next door to Mancha, said the constant noise from kids skating “six days a week” is unfair.
“This ordinance is long overdue. Common sense needs to take priority over absurdity. That is what the situation in my neighborhood has become — absurd,” Hutchison said. “My neighbor’s never-ending parade of skateboarders is an oppression which I cannot escape nor do I deserve … I’ve lost the enjoyment of my property.”
Communications between city staff and the Hutchison and Menezes households indicate a more complicated situation regarding the ramp on Oak Drive.
Menezes told staff that her neighbors had only raised severe issues regarding the ramp in the October planning commission hearing. Before then, she and her husband had always worked to accommodate their privacy and noise concerns.
According to emails, Hutchison also filed a code complaint with the city in November, arguing that the ramp did not meet setback requirements. However, city staff said they found no code violations upon inspecting the property.
Councilwoman Katie Melendez said the lack of resolution, in this case, made it necessary for the council to intervene, but that she prefers these issues to be solved on a “neighbor to neighbor level.”
“Somewhere along the way, that no longer became a reality for the neighbors in this situation, which is unfortunate,” Melendez said. “I really do see regulations like this not as something that’s going to take away from the benefit of someone being able to do a sport in their backyard or in their free time, but to be able to have consideration [for] a group of people — the neighbors — and to have peacemaking.”
Individuals who submit a skate ramp permit for review to the Planning Commission must meet various conditions, including implementing proper landscaping and screening to protect neighbors’ privacy, using wood or other composite materials in the ramp’s construction and soundproofing the structure to the extent practical.
Use of a skate ramp for special events or business purposes will not be allowed, and adequate parking must also be provided at residences with a ramp. In addition, any lighting for a skate ramp must be directed downwards and not spill onto other properties, and setbacks must meet the requirements for a primary residence, according to the city.
“Staff would be able to impose conditions for the use of the structure depending on characteristics of the property and the neighboring concerns,” Community Development Director John Conley said.
The council also agreed to set general hours of operation from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for skate ramps over 6 feet unless otherwise permitted following a public hearing.
While the draft ordinance approved by the Planning Commission suggested an 18-month amortization period for existing ramps to come into compliance, the council agreed to shorten that period to 12 months to speed up the process for concerned neighbors.
Application approval may also be appealed to the City Council.
