In NY, NJ, VA and NC, it's pretty common to see hockey skaters on freestyles, mainly for private lessons. It's really a rink-to-rink situation, sometimes even a seasonal issue. (ie. Figure Skaters only before big tests and competitions.)
Our Coffee Club session has a speedskating regular. He does lap after lap after lap, but he's not bothering anyone.
I just thought it was odd that the high-level skaters needed permission to skate on freestyles. Usually, it's the other way around: lower-level skaters need permission to skate on freestyles, usually beginning LTS levels. I guess since they just opened, they haven't classified high/low freestyle sessions yet.