San Diego City Council Passes Major Parking Increases In 5-2 Vote

The San Diego City Council passed sweeping city parking changes this week, with street parking costs expected to go up as a result.

According to the new rules okayed by the City Council, the city will institute dynamic pricing, which will allow the city to increase meter rates during high traffic times, like during special events or during San Diego Padres games. Also being added is charging for Sunday parking. While many cities across the country have free weekend or Sunday parking for streets and city lots to encourage more visits into the city to help local businesses, and to not charge those simply wishing to attend religious services, San Diego opted to move away from that model.

In addition, higher fees will be coming for valet parking permit applications and permits for blocking parking spaces during construction and other events. Changes to city owned lots are being planned as well.

With the city of San Diego over $300 million in debt, Councilmembers have taken action to close the gap. This has included consolidating office space and slashing the city budget in most departments. In addition, audits have been performed looking for places to cut back on, although they have also found millions in fees that they should have been collecting for years. Needing more sources of additional revenue, the city targeted parking last year as a source of future revenue, with studies coming back showing where to increase and expand to help generate funds. This culminated in the action taken on Monday by the City Council.

“In July 2024, the Sustainability and Mobility Department contracted with Fehr & Peers, a traffic engineering and transportation planning consulting firm, which performed a detailed analysis and prepared a series of parking management recommendations, outlining the measures needed for an effective and efficient parking management framework in the city,” said the city in a statement. “Staff will be required to consult with, and provide solutions for, residents who rely on regulated street parking due to a lack of off-street solutions before parking meter enforcement expands to Sundays.

“Parking meter revenues are limited by law to specific areas and uses. They must be reinvested to benefit parking and mobility-related needs within the meter zone where they were collected.”

At the meeting and vote on Monday, City Councilmembers confirmed that the higher costs were because of the budget deficit, with the city needing more funds for road maintenance and infrastructure, as well as a way to help combat pollution. The Council also addressed concerns that higher parking would affect city residents a lot more than those coming from outside the city.

San Diego passes parking reforms

“We’re having a budget conversation right now where we’re talking about cutting hours to parks and libraries and rec centers and all of that could be paid for by people who visit the city and treat it like a playground,” explained Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera. “I’m pushing for a city-wide parking permit which would provide discounts to residents. San Diego residents would have a simpler system for parking because they’d have that pass and we would be pulling in revenue from non-residents so that we can pay for the things that San Diegans want and need without unnecessarily burdening San Diego residents in the process.

“I think this is a classic example of San Diego needing to be more confident in itself. People are going to go to Balboa Park. It’s a beautiful park with incredible museums and resources. We can figure this out.”

“Dynamic pricing would more efficiently manage the demand for curb space. I know that we’re using data to make the right determination on this, it’s been collected in the study,” added Councilman Raul Campillo. “These will be analyzed at least quarterly to make sure that data is driving our decision about the pricing.”

All together, the parking reforms are expected to be rolled out gradually and are projected to bring in an additional $18.4 million in revenue next fiscal year.

Some Councilmembers opposed the parking reforms, noting that it could lead to less tourists and reduce the economic impact for businesses as a result. It was also pointed out that higher pricing could lock out some less wealthy residents from enjoying the city by nickel and diming them.

“Making parking a larger expense could essentially become a barrier for them to be able to go to something special with their family,” said Councilmember Vivian Moreno.

Despite some opposition, the reforms passed in a 5-2 vote.

San Diego now joins cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento in having recent major increases in parking fees either for street or city lot parking. While all cities are expecting to get a short-term jump in revenue, it is not known how the increased fees and other parking reforms will affect them in the long run.