The Scotts Valley Skate Park was closed for three days last week after nearly a dozen graffiti markings were found in the park June 8.
Markings were found written in permanent marker on pavement and metal coping throughout the park that Monday morning.
Police do not believe the tags are gang-related.
“I haven’t seen these before,” Sgt. Mike Dean said.
Police documented the graffiti, and city public works employees pressure-washed the markings away.
Scotts Valley’s municipal code calls for a three-day closure when significant graffiti is found.
“It’s a shame for the little kids, because this is the first week school’s out,” Dean said.
A group of about eight young skaters were bumped out of the park the morning the graffiti was found, including Tristan Hickenbottom of Santa Cruz.
“I think it’s kinda lame,” Tristan said. “I skate at Derby (skate park in Santa Cruz) and tagging is not the biggest deal on Earth. That’s part of skateboarding culture … tags and stickers.”
However, Tristan said he understands the city wants to keep the park clean for all the youngsters coming to skate from the middle school.
“As many things are, one person’s actions affect everyone else,” he said.
Scotts Valley has the most stringent graffiti policy in the area when it comes to access after an incident.
“It’s been effective in that I’ve literally heard people say ‘Don’t do that; (the park) will be closed for three days,’” said Conrad Sudduth, recreation division manager.
Other municipalities do not have a set length of time their skate parks will close when graffiti is found.
The city of Santa Cruz, which operates the Ken Wormhoudt Skate Park and Derby Skate Park, simply closes the park until graffiti is cleaned up — which can sometimes take a full day, according to Steve Hammack, Santa Cruz parks superintendent.
“The skate park doesn’t regularly get graffitied,” Hammack said. “It’s stained blue and looks like a wave crashing. The rest of the park is stained beige. We put color on the concrete. Skaters seem to respect that.”
However, Derby park, near Natural Bridges, is full of graffiti — Hammack said Santa Cruz only removes hate-related messages, leaving the park as a pallet for graffiti artists.
In the county, the Highlands Park skate park in Ben Lomond and the Jose Avenue skate park in Live Oak close for the length of time it takes to clean up the markings. One time, that forced the Ben Lomond park to shut down for a week.
“If it’s small, we clean it up and move on,” said Gretchen Eliff, the county parks maintenance supervisor.
However, it has been about a year since Scotts Valley closed its skate park for three days — that was when swastikas and racist markings were found covering much of the park.
Scotts Valley City Councilwoman Stephany Aguilar said the closure policy was put in place by the council when the park opened for the first time.
“It’s very effective, I believe,” Aguilar said. “It’s a good deterrent, and it provides enough time to clean (graffiti) up.”
