NEVADA CITY, Calif. February 26, 2026 – After a reality check in the form of an exhaustive staff report, Nevada City councilmembers faced the lack of land, cash and contracts for the promised skatepark during Wednesday evening’s meeting. In the end, they gave direction to staff to investigate available sites, bringing a transparent process back on track.
Interim City Manager Joan Phillipe gave a condensed version of the staff report to the council and the public and laid out some of the challenges with the current state of the project.
“We have not finalized acquisition of that property [Bodhi Hive location]. At the same time we, we have been moving forward with a contract for build and design, bid and build. We’ve put a halt on that temporarily at least until we have direction from you… There are various levels of environmental review depending upon the project that would need to be determined. We have not allocated funds for that portion of the project… Some of those monies being allocated for this project, which is $750,000 that does not include various other components of the project, including clearing of the land, environmental review, long term maintenance costs, potential replacement costs down the road and pro 15 to 20 years…I think my last comment before questions from you is that I want to emphasize that this is not a statement in any way of opposition to a skate park project. It is simply to cClarify the process to get direction from you as council so that we avoid creating any undue challenges down the road that could jeopardize the project as efficient.”
With the issues identified, it was councilmembers’ turn to share their stance and recollections how all this came about. All the council meetings are available on YouTube, including the Nov. 8, 2023 and the August 28, 2024 sessions.
Councilmember Doug Fleming, who brought the idea of locating a skatepark on the Bodhi Hive property to the council, started by saying he recalled the skatepark was only brought up after the school could not use all of the funding allocated to them. That recollection was disputed by both the school and councilmembers later. Fleming also stated, “I think it’s responsible to pause, take a fresh look and do this the right way with the process. I would like staff to come back to the top three viable skate park locations in town with the clear pros and cons analysis for each, including site constraints, neighborhood compatibility, access and parking, and operational impacts, as well as a high level CEQA profile so we can understand the schedule that’s needed and the risk that we’re undertaking.”
Councilmember Gary Petersen, an awoved public works person, started by saying, “No money, no property, no project, it’s pretty basic stuff.” He also wanted to know if anyone had reached out to the grant funder, because the deadline to expend the grant funding is April of 2028. “Because I think that Doug and I absolutely agree on we’re not giving that money back. And I think we’re all in agreement on that. But I’m not sure what that looks like. If it means giving it to the school because we don’t have enough time to do a skate park, I’m gonna do that because it’s about keeping the money in our community.”
Councilmember Daniela Fernández spoke next. “I do want to say to folks in the room, particularly young folks, this isn’t about whether or not we should or should not have a skate park. I think on November 23rd or November 8th, 2023, we all agreed that would be a tremendous amenity to Nevada City. We want to make that happen for folks.” She also pointed out that the project didn’t follow the normal process as it came to the committee and ultimately the council with plans and promises made without the full council’s involvement. “So when commitments are made before the full Council alignment, it limits our ability to deliberate openly. It creates pressure to affirm a path rather than have evaluated it. And in this case, that pressure had real consequences. It was a process that was fraught from the beginning.”
Councilmember Lou Cecci stated, “I want a skate park here. I’m not married to the idea of being at that property. I’m married to the idea of it being the best possible place for it to be. I do question some of the some of the city owned lots do seem on the small side for a project like this. That needs to be acknowledged. I think Pioneer Park would be an imperfect solution. I think we would lose too many amenities to make room for a skate park there. I look forward to seeing what staff come back with as far as recommended spots. Maybe that will be the Bodhi Hive. Maybe it will be something else.”
Public comment started with Sandra Barrington, the president of the Nevada City School Board. She thanked the council for bringing the item back for consideration and expressed her strong support for a skatepark. She added, “As far as the school district goes, we are shovel ready to complete our field project. And I just want to clarify one thing that was in the staff report. It said that our field project was complete. It was not. When we the funding was reduced for us, we pivoted. We came up with a phase one and we still have a phase two to be completed.”
Mary Maya, a teacher at Sierra Academy of Exponential Learning and newly elected board member of Nevada County Skate, offered an alternative site, the SAEL blacktop area and garden dirt area. “The blacktop and green spaces have been underutilized and neglected for some time. If any of you have gone there, I teach skate elective. We call the blacktop the cheese grater and there’s a reason. Because your leg, your hands look like you just went through a cheese grater when you fall down. However, it holds incredible potential. Nevada City has a large and growing skate community and with the restrictions on skateboarding in historic district which we all know now, there are limited legal spaces for youth and adults to ride. Creating a designated skate park at this location would provide a safe, structured and appropriate place for skate while preserving the integrity of downtown… I’ve seen firsthand how skateboarding builds resilience. It builds belonging, inclusivity and positive community engagement. Especially for our marginalized, disenfranchised, socio-economically disadvantaged.”
Next up was John Baggett, the superintendent of the Nevada City School District. A couple of clarifications that I’d like to make about what was discussed tonight. In the original plan, there was never really any discussion about that we could not spend the funds… The only change that was ever discussed was that turf was not acceptable.” He expressed his surprise at hearing a meeting was scheduled in November of 2024 where half of the money allocated to the school’s project was suddenly taken away and used for a skatepark.
“So that was a big surprise. And you can imagine, as a Superintendent, I asked Mr. Grayson for a letter of award letter, which I did receive. I never want to go out in front of my board and say, hey, we’re getting $1.5 million. I asked for that award letter. I saw it in writing and I presented to my board. And then later I have to eat crow and backtrack and say, actually, we’re not going to get a $1.5million. We’re going to get $750,000 taken away. So that’s really the history of it.”
Baggett expressed his support for a skatepark in Nevada City, adding “I would just recommend slowing down and making the right decision. Thank you.”
Caleb, a young skater from Penn Valley, addressed the council, “I’m just here to show my appreciation to you guys for taking your time and diligence throughout this process. Thank you for sharing the kind of timeline of how we are where we are at. I would like to point out and just make reference to some of our not so far away neighbors at Colfax that have been going through a process like this for over 15 years trying to get a skate park. I would hate for something like that to happen here. It sounds like there is. You know we are all excited and looking forward to getting a skate park. I’m not super familiar with government, how it works, but it would be cool if there was some sort of timeline you could lay out to hit potential goals.”
Orion, another young skater, agreed, “I’d like to second what Caleb said and say, let’s not be like Colfax and take 15 years. I think it’s on you guys to do the due diligence to find another spot if Bodhi Hive is not going to work. There’s Pioneer Park, there’s like you said, other city properties. Let’s get out and look at them this week, next week, and figure it out.”
Neighbors were not inclined to support the Bodhi Hive location. As they had done in previous meetings, they mentioned the location, access, fire safety and the cost of the project. They also expressed their disappointment that despite voicing all the concerns at the meeting in November of 2024, “less than five minutes later, every single one of you voted to extend that contract. So to me, that was the most disappointing thing in the world because that meant none of you had done your research.”
Per the desiderata of the council, staff will identify possible sites and the constraints attached to each site. They’ll check in with the grant funder on possible extensions, then bring everything back to the council. It is unknown if they’ll also reach back out to Spohn Ranch to finalize the design and build contract or ask for changes in the timeline.
Timeline
- December 2, 2022: The City of Nevada City submits an application to the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) for Proposition 64 Cohort 3 Grant program. The Prop 64 Grant program is for programs addressing youth prevention, health education, enforcement, and environmental impacts.
- April 19, 2023: The City is notified by BSCC they’ve been awarded a $3 million grant over a five-year period.
- November 8, 2023: City Council unanimously approves the submission of a grant modification to include use of the grant funds for the Nevada City Skatepark after an offer of donation of land at the Nevada City Tech Center (Bodhi Hive) was made.
- August 28, 2024: City Council unanimously accepts a Letter of Intent for the donation of land from Chris Anderson, owner of the Nevada City Tech Center dba the Bodhi Hive Collective for the skatepark.
- August 13, 2025: City Council unanimously awards the contract to Spohn Ranch and authorizes the City Manager to execute any contracts or related documents.
- October 29, 2025: Design kick-off meeting held by Spohn Ranch.
- February 25, 2026: Reset by the City Council.