Here are common legitimate opinions that should be treated seriously:

“The liability is too high,”
“The skatepark will attract unwanted behavior.”

Note: Remember skateparks are not a magnet for crime

Here are common opinions that should be addressed fairly, but may be hiding a deeper anti-skateboarder sentiment:

“The skatepark will be noisy.”
“There aren’t enough skaters to warrant this investment.”
“We need an environmental impact study.”

Here are overt anti-skateboarder opinions that don’t need to be addressed:

“Skateboarders are drug dealers and delinquents.”
“Skateboarding culture promotes antisocial tendencies.”
“Skateboarders don’t deserve a skatepark.”
“We should be promoting traditional sports.”

It is hard to believe that there are people who don’t like skateparks. Unfortunately, they exist…and they can seem to arrive when you least want them to and have no issues with making a huge stink. They know that the “controversy” that they create can be as effective in shutting down or relocating the skatepark as the actual reasons they present as evidence. If they can blanket every skatepark discussion with controversy—any kind of controversy—they are raising doubts about the skatepark and scaring community leaders.

For these people, seeing the skatepark stopped or relocated becomes a matter of pride, and as soon as you can address one concern, they’ll present you with a different one.