The town has looked at quite a few locations over the course of about five years, but has yet to find a suitable, affordable one.

The site—a 22,000-square-foot parking lot at Balzar Field—was met with both opposition and support from members of the public who attended the meeting.

Assistant Town Manager Pamela Jacobs said that, though parking spaces would be lost, most could be replaced elsewhere near the baseball field. She also said a skate park was not likely to create noise problems because of existing noise from the sporting events and Highway 17.

Supporters said the site provides a safe, decent-sized location for town youth to skate instead of in parking lots or other illegal locations.

"I find it very attractive from a location point of view," resident Jim Waite said. Waite, whose 12-year-old son, Bevan, is a skateboarder, said the site seemed safe for children to get to and would provide an alternative to temporary ramps many neighborhood skaters place in his street.

Others said they were in support of the skate park idea, but thought the location was a poor choice. Some questioned the possible $125,000 that the town would have to spend on the park.

Brett Gordon, a resident of the Los Gatos Heights apartment complex on nearby Edelen Avenue, said the park would be in his front yard.

"There's no building closer than mine," Gordon said. "You talk about noise, it's all over the place. How can I support this? To me, for the kids it's a great place, but putting it in the neighborhood, it's a mistake."

About a half-dozen young skateboarders attended the meeting. Those who spoke said they wanted to see a park but wanted to be sure it would be of high quality. Several said a permanent concrete structure would be better and safer than the above-ground ramp system town officials are currently discussing.

Kevin Thatcher, a Los Gatos resident and former publisher of Thrasher skateboarding magazine, said the small site could be well used if it is built right.

"I only think it's a beautiful site if it's cement," he said. He warned that temporary ramps would need to be replaced in a relatively short period of time. He also recommended dropping proposed supervision and fences to keep costs down, but council members indicated that they did not want to see that happen.

The council voted to spend $25,000 on an initial study and design and to contract with Indigo Architects to create that design. The company will hold focus group and neighborhood meetings to create a design that addresses the concerns of all involved parties.