Salt Lake City Utah essentially bans skateboard ramps on private property, except for the rich. Hey, it’s just like 1984 again! Here’s the link to all the new regulations, #21 – Community Noise Pollution Control Regulation is the one you want.
4.5.21. Sporting Ramps. No person shall build or use nor shall any person cause, allow, or permit anyone to build or allow anyone to use any skateboard, roller blade,
bicycle, or snowboard ramp or half-pipe or similar configuration within 800 feet of a dwelling, except within facilities that have been designated for such use by a government entity.
Actually, it’s the Salt Lake Valley Health Department that is the regulating body. Local Nick Hale was one of the first to get a visit from the Mormon Machine. He started a website where he’s collecting signatures for a petition to overturn the ban over at SLCminiramp, although he might attract a wider audience demographic without the giant “Bogus! Weeeeak!” graphic.
This is… so lame. I’m not going to bother preaching to the converted, but we’ll keep our ears open for future developments, help rally the troops, etc. Image above is from the SnA feature on the demo halfpipe in the Olympic Village at SLC during the 2002 Winter Olympics.
– Thanks to Skate Utah and many others for the tip.
UPDATE: Story from the Salt Lake Tribune via Skate Daily.
20 comments
kendra mitchell
this shit is badass!
kendra mitchell
i love it it would be ausome to skate on.
yeah
im really comfortable with blaming Bush.
for everything. He’s a douche and it sounds good. ,br>
flat spots, taxes, tooth pain, swellbow, ect.
his fault.
douche.
bjjpdx/Tom
That sounds like a step in the right direction.
SLVHD
Health Department Information Update
The Salt Lake Valley Board of Health meeting scheduled for next Thursday, October 2nd, while open to the public for attendance, is NOT a public hearing. Public comments will be allowed at the official Public Hearing (to be scheduled at a later date). Also, until the health department can gather additional information and meet with all parties involved, there will most likely be a suspension on this portion of the noise regulation (banning skate ramps).
Please feel free to send your comments to the Salt Lake Valley Health Department via email at pdavenport@slco.org. SLVHD will let you know the day and time for Public Comments, as soon as it has been scheduled.
BJJPDX/Tom
I rememebr they tried to outlaw Icecream trucks from playing the music when I lived there. I hope they win, Im sure they will.
Mac
Skatedaily.net links to this article in today’s SL Tribune:
http://www.sltrib.com/Utah/ci_10543092
It’s worth reading the comments as well. They’re 100% pro ramp and pro skating, and most are not from skaters. Many comparisons to power tools, leaf blowers, trampolines, pools, basketball courts, barbeques, drunken morons, diesel engines, a ban on soccer is called for… This ordinance is going down.
BJJPDX/Tom
Yea Kilwag I was there for most of the festivities. I designed the snowboard ramp and our company built the snowboard ramp out of scaffold and beams/plywood, got to take a run down it after they layed the snow.. Also built all of the beer garden scaffolds. Your buddy was the guy with the mac laptop right?? i talked to a guy there that new alot of guys from Portland, I remember he Knew Andy Wolf, thats where I found out andy owned premeir. Used to skate with Andy in high school. Appaerently one of the promoters of the Ice village took off with the cash and alot of people didnt get payed. I didnt know you build that ramp we were probably there at the same time. The ramp turned out nice the general contractor said I could have it after but my wife said know was pretty bummed. It was amazing how much stuff they crammed in there, the big air ramp, the half pipe, and across from the half pipe they had the snowmobile jumps.
paige
“We all know this is Bush…”
That sounds like my boyfriend’s mother. She has guns and ammunition stockpiled in an entire room in her home, has emergency kits galore, distrust banks to the point of making her own “community currency” that got her investigated by the Federal Government and her own spot on KATU news.
I wonder if people will still blame Bush after his term. It’s like the people in my office that blame Reagan for the mentally ill people downtown, because he cut off funding for public health programs. Will Bush always be responsible for the economy, or the lack of skateparks? It’s time to take personal responsibility for not having done more when we should have.
Hass
The city is banning these ramps by means of a noise ordinance. The health department is in charge because they don’t want people to go deaf from skateboarders going “yeaaaaah” every time a little timmy does a rock fakie.
Ryan Heckler
why the fuck is this ordinance coming from a ‘health department’, is said health department going to outlaw cigarettes too, something that actually effects the publics’ health?
Kilwag
BJJPDX/Tom – that’s funny. I thought that snowboard launch was insane in terms of scale. Couldn’t believe they built that in a parking lot. Were you there for any of the festivities? Our buddy that hired us to build that ramp was living there at the same time, had the same thing to say, Mormons ran everything and you had to be one to get anywhere.
zed-word
“..and the Pursuit of Happiness*…”
(*Does not apply in Salt Lake City
BJJPDX/Tom
I spent 8 years there and I can tell you the Mormons absolutely run every thing there. There is NO seperation between church and state there. When your neigbors find out your not mormon wont talk to you. You have to get a sponsor to get into a bar. grocery store beer is 3.2% anythiong more you have to go to the liquor stor and pay out the Ass. There should be some clause under federal property rights that would shut this bill down, enforcing noise restriction is one thing but banning what people do on their own land is BS. You know this all started by one of his MOMO neigbors complaining, I would walk out in my back yard every 5 minutes with an air horn right up to the allowable hour, I would make my back yard the Noisiest back yard in the state just to prove a point, and out of spite.
Concretin Nik
Skateboarding is a lifestyle right? Well, there’s no mention of “lifestyle ramps”… so build away. There’s no way any type of enforcement of this ordinance will stand up in court. Someone will have to take it there though… How can any council be so stupid?
TM
The ramp looks great. Late 80’s – early 90’s “pro” material. I’d like to skate it. Good luck SLC skaters. Remember that the the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I don’t know why a skate ramp/bowl/whatever is any different than a basketball court/soccer field/backyard trampoline/backyard horshoe pit/gay-volleyball court/midget bowling alley/etc. Big brother should but out. Call it “an olympic gymastic cross-training facilty”.
VulgarDisplayCFH
RE: chaperone
What does Bush have to do with this?
chaperone
Crap, total crap. As we all know this is bush, Bush country that is. Hit Park City last winter on the way to Colorado, stayed 15 min. outside PC (PC nice) in a small town. As Tom said, ‘..it’s weird there.’ Is there a strange vibe when your 10 year old says, “Dad, Utah is weird”, without one bit of prompting from you. Thought so.
Stopped at a park on the way back in Alpine, 30 kids there and not one in the bowls. Had it all to ourselves. Ok park, but again, that vibe. Twilight stuff. Romney dropped out, right?
TM
I have a neighbor with a basketball hoop. The “thud,thud,cluck, thud, thud x 1000” is a piss-off. The kids yelling and calling foul is even louder.
They should have a decibel limitation and cut-off hour. If you could insulate the ramp (acoustically) and have a cut-off time (9/10/11, whatever) than that should suffice in any normal society..
F’in Mormons….
BJJPDX/Tom
LOL i built the Snowboard Hi jump ramp at the same event where that Half pipe is shown at the olympic Village. TOO funny. I tried to get that ramp for my yard after the event, but my wide said NO!. Seriously Im not surprised at the ban SLC sucks I was happy as a clam to get to move back to portland after 8 years of that place. Its weird there. I hope those guys can beat the MOMO machine. They arent blessed with the Parks that we have here theres a few but not many.