Back in October we told you about a north west Calgary family who had received an order from by-law officers to remove their backyard skate ramp because it violated Calgary’s no ramp bylaw (Land Use Bylaw 4.27mb PDF). We’re kinda slow but it is time for us to give you an update on the Collins’ appeal of the removal order.
Jeff watching son Jack skate their ramp
Back on January 14th Jeff Collins formally appealed the removal order, appearing before the development appeal board. Jeff laid out his case that the ramp was not noisy and had in fact been in place for three years without incident. Collins informed the board that Calgary stands alone in Canadian cities with it’s outright ban on backyard ramps and that skateboarding is part of the active healthy lifestyle that the City of Calgary and others promote so vigorously. Having made his case before the board as best he could without the help of anyone like Ben Matlock, Mr. Collins had to wait a further two weeks until January 28th to hear the verdict for the ramp that he and son Jack love to skate.
Decision Day For Calgary Skateboarding
On a cold January Day father, skateboarder, and oil patch consulting firm employee Jeff Collins returns to City Hall to hear the fate of the treasured ramp now covered in snow and ice. Would the Development Appeal Board stick to the letter of the bylaw, or would they show some common sense and allow Jeff & Jack to skateboard at home like they have for the past three years? We are stoked to report that the DAB had a heart after all. The Collins’ will have their ramp to skate under a few conditions:
Jack is stoked to skate his ramp this year
- The ramp can stay for one year
- To keep the ramp longer, the Collins’ will have to apply for another permit
- There can be no changes or addition to the ramp without approval
- The ramp can be used between 10am and 9pm for a maximum of 2 hours a day
- No more than 4 skaters at one time.
Congratulations to the DAB for seeing past the prejudices behind the current bylaw and finding a way for Jack and his Dad to keep their ramp. That there are conditions is a sign of just how far our City Council has to go in joining the 21st century regarding it’s skateboarders, but at least the DAB conditions are for the most part reasonable. Now the fight has to continue to get the bylaw changed so Jeff and Jack don’t have to go through this again next year.
I disagree with some of your comments: The restrictions are for the most part unreasonable.
-The two hour limit is arbitrary. Why two? And how would the City hope to uphold that limit?
-No more than four skaters at a time? It’s clear it will mostly be one person at a time. The real issue is that the City believes it should have the jurisdiction to make the quota.
The only reasonable thing there is the time span–between 10am and 9pm. To put this into perspective, imagine the City coming to your house and ensuring you allow no more than 4 people on your trampoline and don’t use it for any longer than 2 hours.
My friends and I skate a box set-up right on a main one way avenue right in the downtown core! Not once have we heard from the city or by-law to shut it down. Last Sunday we even had police on foot ask us if we could land a trick for them…WTF! The fact that a communtiy or a rotten neighbour has ended such an amazing skate feature, not to mention an excellent bonding experience between father and son makes me realize that this city is light years behind the rest of the world…