SAN MARCOS -- Bicycle motorcross enthusiasts are asking the city to set aside time for them at a skatepark in Hollandia Park -- a request city officials said raises potential insurance and other issues.

City Attorney Helen Holmes Peak said Thursday that she is researching those issues before weighing in with a recommendation on the request from bicycle riders. She added, however, that the idea of allowing bicycle motorcross riders to use a facility designed for skateboarders doesn't seem like a good one.

"That's a major concern," Holmes Peak said. "And then equally important is what our insurer is going to say. And I would think they're going to have the same concerns we have about a facility that's designed for skateboard use."

Known as BMX for short, bicycle motorcross is a form of bike racing made popular by the annual X Games and other extreme sports events where riders jump their bikes over small hills and other obstacles on their way to the finish line.

The sport typically takes place on a dirt track.

The 7,200-square-foot, concrete skatepark opened last fall at 12 Mission Hills Court as the city's first park for skateboarders.

The skatepark was designed with the help of feedback from local skateboarders and skating superstars Tony Hawk and Andy McDonald.

City Community Services Director Craig Sargent-Beach said Thursday that the city's Youth Commission considered the possibility of making the skatepark available for BMX riders, before the facility was built.

"But as we researched it more, we found that usually BMX bikes are better off having a separate dirt course that might have more jumps and a bit more space, because BMX usually does require more space," he said.

Sargent-Beach said he's not aware of any formal BMX organizations in San Marcos. He said, however, that small groups of teens create their own unofficial dirt tracks on private lots around town from time to time.

The idea of allowing BMX riders to use the skatepark surfaced again just recently after Mayor Jim Desmond received a request asking the city to give BMX riders exclusive use of the facility twice a week, for a few hours each time.

Desmond brought up the request at the City Council's Feb. 10 meeting, but the council could not discuss the matter at length because it was not on an agenda for the session. Desmond could not be reached for comment Thursday.

State law indemnifies cities from legal responsibility for any accident-related injuries users sustain at a municipal skatepark, if certain requirements are met. City officials said San Marcos meets all the criteria, including a requirement that helmets, knee pads and other safety gear be worn on the property.

Holmes Peak said that while BMX is included in the law, it's unclear whether the city's indemnity would be affected if the sport were allowed at a facility specifically designed for skateboarding.

The same is true for both the city's own insurance coverage and coverage carried by the company that designed the facility, she said.

Sargent-Beach said there are maintenance issues to consider as well.

"(BMX bikes) tend to have pegs on them that tend to mar the surface, especially the concrete which we've got out there," he said. Even if it's just the handles or the frame of the bike, when they wipe out, it tends to rough up the surface. And then it's hard for skateboarders to skate on."

Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.