NEVADA CITY, Calif. February 24, 2026 – As the Nevada City City Council prepares for its Wednesday meeting, the vibe surrounding the planned skatepark has flipped from ollies to adulting. The staff report for the item reveals that the project, while long on community passion, is currently short on cash, land, and finalized contracts.
The proposed site remains a major hurdle. Since November of 2023, the city assumed a “back of the napkin” agreement brought forth by Councilmember Doug Fleming, transformed in August of 2024 into a letter of intent for a land donation by Chris Anderson of Bodhi Hive was a done deal. As of publication time, no agreement has been secured.
Currently, the City has not secured ownership of the property and in the ensuing time acquisition discussions have included leasing the land for 50 or 99 years or establishing a recreation easement for the land. As of the writing of this staff report, staff has not been able to connect with the property owner for clarification of his current position. It is hoped that the Council can be advised verbally at the council meeting.
Staff report
Hitting pause on the design and an unfilled budget gap
During a packed October design meeting at the Miners Foundry, skaters were placing red dots on their favorite obstacles and hearing from Spohn Ranch Skateparks Project Manager Adam Eichorn about a 7,500 to 8,500-square-foot facility tailored specifically for the area, the size being determined by the tight budget.
After the City Council approved and awarded the contract to Spohn Ranch for designing and building the skatepark in October of 2025, they had some concerns about the contract and requested changes. To date, the City does not have a signed contract with Spohn Ranch. City staff has advised them to pause all work until the city council is providing direction to staff.
The $750,000 allocated to the contract with Spohn Ranch was composed of $653,940 from the Prop 64 Cohort 3 Grant Agreement and $96,060 in “miscellaneous” funding.
The $96,060 difference would need to be allocated in the city’s general fund budget or additional grant funded would need to be secured. Previous staff indicated the city would contribute $250,000 toward land clearing and preparation but in consultation with Stephen Erlandson [program manager/consultant], those funds were identified as miscellaneous grants that have not been secured. [emphasis added.]
Staff report
No funds have been secured for environmental review, clearing the property or hooking up utilities. Neither have ongoing costs been identified for maintenance and staffing.
The staff report paints a rather somber if accurate picture of the current situation.
Taking a step back it became clear in the staff review of the project to date that the city has moved forward with the project without having a final determination on acquisition of the land and approved a contract for design/bid/build absent secured full funding. Further there hasn’t been determination on level of environmental review and funds allocated for that process.
Staff report
In sum, no land secured at the current location, not enough money to pay for the current contract and no money for clearing the site, environmental review or subsequent maintenance.
Developer rights
The development agreement in place for the Bodhi Hive area does allow for cannabis uses on the property. While there are currently no cannabis businesses in the Tech Center, they are a permitted use under the LI zoning and the development agreement.
The skatepark would be classified as a youth center and the California Health and Safety Code prohibits smoking cannabis or cannabis products within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center, or youth center while children are present. Since the skatepark location is 300 ft from the Bodhi Hive building, it would prohibit a dispensary to be located in the building, limiting the property owner’s possible future development options.
The site has also experienced a number of incidents ranging from disturbance calls to overdoses.
Neighbors likely to chime in
If the Jan. 8 neighborhood meeting was any indication, residents around the project will show up to the council meeting and voice their concerns. Safety for the kids using the skatepark, traffic and transportation issues, as well as wildfire were high on the list of questions they attempted to ask at that meeting.
From vibe-coding to reality: A multi-pronged fork in the road before the City Council
On Wednesday, the City Council has at least three options:
- Keep trying to make the Bodhi Hive site work despite the ownership issue and the funding gap.
- Pause the Spohn Ranch contract and look at other city-owned properties, while finally budgeting for CEQA, utilities, and maintenance costs.
- Give up on the skatepark for now and move the $750,000 back to the Seven Hills field project for bathrooms and ADA access.
On a brighter note, the staff reports also states:
Given the current uncertainty of acquisition of the land, staff has discussed other potential locations for the skatepark in the event agreement cannot be reached for the Bodhi Hive property. The city owns several properties, each with pros and cons. A more thorough evaluation would need to be done on each property to determine viability for this type of use.
The City Council meeting starts at 6:30 pm at City Hall and the skatepark is the last item on the agenda. The meetings are being live streamed on the city’s YouTube channel.