A Live Oak man who has asked the city to regulate skateboarding may not get the results he wants.

Charles Maloy, who lives on Pine Avenue, has campaigned for a skateboarding ordinance for several months to curb a skateboarding problem in his neighborhood. He said law enforcement officials told him they could not address the issue without an ordinance in place.

Former Live Oak Police Department Chief Nolan McLeod and current Chief Buddy Williams drafted several ordinances in an effort to accommodate Maloy. Williams recently presented council a draft ordinance which received its first reading at a council meeting Tuesday night.

The draft would prohibit the use of skateboards, roller skates, roller blades and similar devices within commercially zoned areas. It would not ban the activity in residential neighborhoods.

Maloy is unhappy with the proposed ordinance.

“What had been a skateboard ordinance has changed to a zoning issue,” he said.

Maloy said banning skateboarding in commercial areas will make his situation worse.

“What do you think will happen when you tell skateboarders you can’t skate in commercially zoned areas?” he said. “They will then skate 100 percent of the time in residential areas.”

Maloy called the ordinance draft “bad” and “discriminatory.”

He asked the council to modify the ordinance to cover his neighborhood.

Councilman Don Boyette suggested changing the ordinance to include residential areas, which would mean banning skateboarding in the entire city.

Councilman Bennie Thomas suggested including just Maloy’s neighborhood in the ordinance.

City Attorney David Robertson said he was not sure it was permissible to include only select streets in a residential area.

Councilmen John Hale, Mark Stewart and Ken Duce voted to approve the ordinance as written. Thomas and Boyette voted to modify the draft.

The final reading of the ordinance will be held at the next regular council meeting.

Williams said he would revise the ordinance if necessary.

“Whatever it will take to resolve it,” he said.

Other issues

During the course of discussion on the ordinance, several issues have surfaced. Maloy has made several complaints about skateboarders, accusing them of loitering, disturbing the peace and destroying property in his neighborhood.

Law enforcement officials have said that a skateboarding ordinance is not necessary to remedy some of Maloy’s problems. Disorderly conduct and criminal mischief can be taken care of by filing a complaint with law enforcement.

LOPD Lt. Joe Daly said law enforcement drafted the ordinance to cover commercial areas because of safety and liability risks.

“We are worried about protecting the city if skateboarders hit someone in the business district,” he said.

Funding for two skateboard parks has been included in the Florida budget. Local officials hope the addition of these facilities will curb skateboard use elsewhere in the city.