By City News Service

Copyright timesofsandiego

Free parking at Balboa Park will soon be phased out after the City Council voted 6-2 to charge for parking in all of the park’s surface lots.

The ordinance, approved Monday night, will allow for city residents to receive discount parking following verification in early 2026. Until then, parking fees for the Balboa Park lots and on-street metered parking will begin “upon the establishment of a quarterly or annual pass program for park-goers,” a statement from the city read. This is expected later this year.

The measure was significantly revised from the original proposal.

Park employees, volunteers and those with an ADA placard will continue to be able to park for free.

The plan for the parking lots introduces three pricing tiers — Levels 1, 2, and 3 — based on demand and proximity.

— Level 1 lots, located in the core of the Central Mesa area, would be subject to the highest rate — $16 per day and $10 for up to 4 hours for nonresidents and $8 per day and $5 for up to 4 hours for city residents. These include: Space Theater, Casa de Balboa, Alcazar, Organ Pavilion, Bea Evenson, Palisades and South Carousel;

— Level 2 lots would be priced at $10 per day for nonresidents and $5 per day for residents. These include: Pepper Grove, Federal, Upper Inspiration Point and Marston Point; and

— Level 3 lots would also be priced at $10 per day with the first 3 hours free. Resident rate: $5 per day with the first 3 hours free.. This includes the lower Inspiration Point lot.

“[Monday’s] vote was a step toward adopting a paid parking program that will finally deliver on our long-standing goal of creating a dedicated funding source for the park, ensuring it can be self-sufficient and well maintained,” Mayor Todd Gloria said after the vote. “Every dollar collected will stay in the park, supporting upkeep and improvements for the more than 13 million people who visit San Diego’s crown jewel each year.

“There is still work to be done to realize this vision, as the program approved today falls short of the aggressive revenue assumptions for the program in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget adopted in June — a budget that, as Budget Committee Chair Henry Foster noted tonight, was based on shaky revenue assumptions by council.”

The Fiscal Year 2026 Adopted Budget includes a total of $15.5 million in parking revenue that is expected to be generated from Balboa Park, including $12.5 million in user fee parking revenue in Balboa Park and at least $3 million in revenue that is assumed to come from zoo parking.

That is now in flux, which could lead to reduction in services midway through the fiscal year.

“The stakes of this program are high, given the reliance on the revenues in this fiscal year’s budget,” Gloria said. “It’s now incumbent on all of us to ensure it delivers so we can avoid steep and painful midyear cuts that will impact neighborhood services throughout the city.”

If the projected revenue falls short, the city will need to find money elsewhere, with the library system a likely target — even as it expanded hours this week under the June budget deal.

“Beginning this week, the San Diego Public Library is adjusting its Monday operating hours — a change that comes after a hard-fought budget season,” Patrick Stewart, CEO of Library Foundation SD said Monday. “At one point, our city’s beloved libraries faced the very real possibility of being closed completely on Sundays and Mondays and becoming a five-day-a-week department. This would have significantly reduced access for patrons in every San Diego neighborhood.”

Due to dealings at City Hall, 17 of the city’s 37 library branches are now open Mondays. Recreation center hours, city-owned lake access and other park and recreation services were some of the last things to be added to the budget, and thus may become the first to go if budget cuts are needed as a result of Monday’s parking fee alterations.

Councilmembers Vivian Moreno and Stephen Whitburn voted no on Monday and Raul Campillo was absent.

More than 120 people spoke at Monday’s meeting, urging the council to not follow through with the plan. For the first time in the discussion, dozens of San Diego High School students spoke. Many of these students park in the Inspiration Point lot and walk to school.

San Diego High School, the city’s oldest, is located on the southern edge of Balboa Park.

Meters — which had been ordered before Monday’s action, causing some consternation among speakers — will be installed on roads within the park: including Balboa Drive, El Prado, Juniper Road, Presidents Way, Quince Drive and Village Place. Additionally, meters are being installed around the park on 6th Avenue and Park Boulevard.

Under the parking plan, meter rates will be $2.50 per hour with a maximum of $10 per day. The implementation of the new parking district will go into effect by Oct. 1, and be enforced between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., seven days a week.

The San Diego Zoo will also soon establish paid parking at its three lots. However, how that is done will be determined by the zoo, which has its own ability to do so under its lease.

A free tram service will continue to serve visitors, going from the Inspiration Point parking lot to a variety of stops within Balboa Park.

Revenues from the parking fees paid within the park must be spent on Balboa Park. The funds can support ongoing maintenance, infrastructure, and visitor amenities and may include road repaving, lighting upgrades, sign improvements and landscaping.

–City News Service