When Steven Mihailovich, reporter for the UT magazine Point Loma-OB Monthly, first got to the August 14 meeting of the Ocean Beach Community Foundation, he didn’t realize the impact of what transpired to the community.
He did note that “The city of San Diego’s financial problems are having several notable effects in Ocean Beach.” Most notable was that the OB Pier’s replacement has stalled and that the OB Community Foundation was stalling the annual Pancake Breakfast until they can figure out alternatives.
The other “big news” was about parking at the beach, most notably paid parking. Here’s that portion of Mihailovich’s report:
Randy Reyes, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s representative for City Council District 2, which includes Ocean Beach, said the city will introduce parking fees at city-owned beach lots sometime after the adoption of parking fees at Balboa Park for the first time, which is expected around October.
Spirited objections ensued.
“These are insanely unpopular policies,” said one resident. “Paid parking at the beach! … I don’t understand. The rationale for this seems to be to soak the people who live here.”
Spurred by a projected $258 million budget deficit for the current fiscal year, the city merely was following trends long established in cities of similar size across the country, Reyes said.
“For years, things have been free,” he said. “If you go to Orange County and you go to the beach, you’re probably paying for parking. We’re not doing anything that nobody else is doing. We’re doing what everyone else is doing.”
It’s unclear how much Mihailovich understood this issue was anathema to OB residents. He did get a taste of it at the meeting.
But paid parking at OB beach parking lots has been resisted by OBceans for years, if not decades. Just because “everybody else does it” is not a reason for doing it here.
This is not the last we’ll hear about it.
Mihailovich also cited some “other OBCF news”:
Immigration enforcement: Asked about San Diego Police Department policy toward federal agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arresting people suspected of illegal immigration for deportation, Community Relations Officer James Harris said “We do not enforce immigration. We don’t ask. We don’t care. That’s our stance on it.”
“We’re not going to assist the enforcement,” Harris said. “We’re there to keep the peace and that’s it. … We’re not going to allow people to be attacked, whether that’s an ICE agent or anyone else on the scene.”
Paid parking is great if it goes back to the community or at the very least having to pay cleans up some of the stuff that goes down in those lots. The people who truly live by/at the beach don’t need to drive to get there and those who absolutely do should have handicap placards that allow for free parking and would probably also see an increase in parking availability. A win-win for the community.
What makes you think that parking $$ would go “back to the community”? Or be used for cleaning lots? It’s not a win-win at all; it’s more schemes by the Gloria regime to raise money to pay for his mismanagement.
Even if it doesn’t go directly to the community, I think just having turnover and requiring payment will limit some of the more unscrupulous characters that are in those lots currently.
That would definitely be the biggest advantage if this were to happen. However, I also think that would just mean these same “characters” would simply move to the surrounding neighborhood streets which is likely worse than the current situation.
Have parking permits not meters. Don’t need eye sore meters. Like Cardiff does.
This money will most certainly go into the general fund to be spent willy nilly by the politicians down in City Hall. Don’t expect much of it to come back our way. All of this could have been avoided; all the parking fees all the extra parking meters hours all of it if we had just accepted that stupid 1% sales tax last election. I am a conservative’s conservative and even I could smell this coming a mile away. We are being punished by Gloria and co. for enjoying some quality of life and not just going from work to grocery store to home like obedient serfs.
So now instead of everyone paying a little more on everything they buy, which is already too much but better than the alternative we’re facing now, these outrageous fees that by no means are commensurate with the services we’re getting are being instituted. Now we’re forced to fight back.
I really don’t understand the mentality that we should be grateful for the fees. It is like some kind of bizarre Stockholms Syndrome by some residents. Just another Charlie Brown football moment. And now we don’t get our Pier back in my lifetime too. Insult to injury!
P.S. I didn’t move here 40 years ago to be “just like Orange County”
I and others like me voted against the sales tax as a message to city hall (AKA) Gloria to be a better financial steward with our tax dollars. Do you fully understand the things this man wastes money on?? He clearly did not get the message and is now punishing the poor and middle class he claims to care for.
Paid parking at the beach is elitist. This is a regressive tax, and another step towards privatizing our beaches. Discourages stewardship as those of us that use the ocean everyday do everything we can to respect and try to keep our beaches clean.
Let’s not forget the city is taking in record revenue from taxes and fees, but the budget deficit is caused by OVERSPENDING by our city council.
Don’t let them off the hook. No paid park and beach parking! Live within your means City of San Diego!!
I like the idea of paid parking in the lot IF all that money stays in OB to improve the bathrooms, lifeguard stations, the pier and parks.
If ya believe that I have a bridge to the Coronado Islands to sell ya.
Time to recall Mayor Gloria? Hope so.
Can we hear the rationale for the implementation of paid parking before we make up our minds? Or perhaps we don’t think the city thinks about this beyond its revenue generation. We’ve been seeking a solution for the transient drug camps problem for years now, and maybe this would help solve it. Go down to the main lifeguard tower parking lot right now and just think about it.
Do you think the city would charge for parking at San Diego beaches if the money went entirely to the community? The timing clearly indicates the money will go to the General Fund regardless of what Gloria says, just like his failed 1% sales tax proposal that he is now using to punitively punish San Diegans.
Unless he cuts the 400% increase in middle management he is not serious about budgets in San Diego.
I would support a system where San Diego locals (with proof of address) get access to cheap, affordable annual parking permits for the beaches, and anyone that doesn’t have a locals pass has to pay more/hourly parking rates. If you’re going to monetize parking, don’t penalize locals. Tourists and the van lifer/RV folks who mooch on our city services should be paying the bulk of parking fees. My only hesitation with all of this is if and when people start migrating to local street parking to avoid paying. Parking is already extremely scarce for locals in the neighborhood. The other hesitation is where the revenue is going to. Is this just a money grab for the city to put into the general fund? If there is paid parking, we should demand that money is reinvested into the community it was collected from for clean public bathrooms, clean beaches, enforcement to stop vagrants from absolutely trashing the beaches and fire pits….It is absolutely pathetic that Ocean Beach has the most disgusting public restrooms I’ve ever seen
Parking meter revenue by law can only fund the costs of the parking enforcement and metering program.
So I fail to see how this, or meter rate increases would have any impact on the citywide budget deficit, unless there is a deficit within the parking program itself.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i10nL6GxhmiirsvGpIVyR1_eRGl_cLAA/view?usp=sharing
KH, thanks for the link to the city memo re parking meter zones; it looks like before the city can have parking meters in OB, they have to establish a parking meter zone.
Charge for parking and pay for the pier already! The homeless have taken over our parking lots and defecated in them. I cant even stop at the lifeguard bathroom in the morning on my walk without worrying about some crazy person being in the bathroom stall. Stop trying to accommodate to the homeless people and accommodate the residents that pay their property taxes! Im so sick of the OB community allowing this in our neighborhoods its ridiculous. I did not buy property in OB to enjoy the smell of human piss on the sidewalk when strolling town.