Adults and children over the age of 12 will soon be barred from utilizing Long Beach’s 82 playground structures.
On Tuesday, May 3, the Long Beach City Council moved forward an ordinance establishing “kid zones,” prohibiting adults from entering playground areas without accompanying a child under the age of 12.
“Throughout the city, we’ve seen that these spaces designed for children have been misused, vandalized and even outright destroyed,” said Councilmember Cindy Allen, who authored the item, adding the ordinance will ensure play spaces “remain safe, open and accessible for [childrens’] use.”
The proposed ordinance first came to the council last September after a string of damaged playground equipment pushed the council to action.
At a Sept. 7 council meeting, Parks, Recreation and Marine Director Brent Dennis explained the City had already seen half a dozen instances of playground damage from adults. In one instance, repairs cost around $50,000, he said.
At that meeting, council members shared a number of other examples where slides and zip lines designed for children were damaged by adult use.
Similar ordinances have been passed in Santa Monica, as well as cities in New York, Oregon, Colorado and Florida.
Though Allen authored the item, she conveyed resident concern about enforcement on the item. She cited her 12-year-old nephew who “looks like he’s 20, a linebacker getting ready for the NFL draft.”
Dennis explained the intent of the item was to “have a watchful eye over the type of use or abuse of our playground spaces,” noting that he didn’t anticipate that they’d enforce the item by checking for identification, which many youth don’t have in the first place.
“I think it’s going to be a kinder, gentler approach,” Dennis said. “I don’t think we’re going to be hard, fast and keep people from enjoying all of our play spaces that, again, are intended for kids.”
The item does not prohibit adults from going to the park, just the playground spaces, which are often delineated by sand or a landing space. Once the ordinance is passed, the Parks and Recreation Department will put up bright orange signage with the new rules at each playground.
Councilmember Al Austin relayed concern from a resident whose special needs adult child may want to use playground equipment, asking whether the ordinance has a provision for such instances.
Dennis said that playground concepts are designed for specific age ranges with the assistance of Public Works and landscape architects, but that enforcement will be “empathetic towards certain cases.”
Austin welcomed the opportunity for enforcement, citing an adult who has “taken over the equipment” at Jackson Park and complaints of drug paraphernalia and used condoms at other parks, which he called “appalling.”
Vice Mayor Rex Richardson said that teenagers from Jordan High School often travel to the adjacent Houghton Park playground to “hang out” on the equipment.
“I don’t want to see those kids getting tickets or caught up in the criminal justice system,” Richardson. “But I think we just need to work with our park staff.”
The item will come back to the council for a final reading on Tuesday, May 10.
