Besieged City Council Walks Back (Some) Paid Balboa Parking

By Kate Callen

At the September 15 hearing on parking fees in Balboa Park, weary San Diego City Councilmembers knew they would be hammered by volunteers, arts patrons, bridge players, lawn bowlers, square dancers, and other regular park users who skew elderly.

But they didn’t see the high school students coming.

Nearly 200 San Diego High students marched from their campus to City Hall with courtesy escorts from City and School District police. The Inspiration Point parking lot is walking distance from their classrooms. Under the new fee system, these students from mostly low-income families would now have to pay to park there.

The sight of gray-haired and teenage constituents teaming up to rebuke City officials made this one of the most enthralling Council hearings in recent memory.

After four hours of deliberation, the Council chose to delay the new fees until January 1. City residents will pay less; out-of-town visitors will pay more. An annual resident parking pass, which the mayor’s staff claimed was impossible, is on the table. The yearly fee will likely be $150.

The decision to weaken the proposal was almost scripted. Under the Gloria administration, this city government has a habit of pushing outlandish plans. Then it pretends to be persuaded to walk them back.

But such political theater opens officials up to furious displays of public rancor, which, at this moment, is way off the charts. Angry speakers have become adept at poking holes through official subterfuge.

Park advocates decisively refuted city contentions that new parking fees will bring in new money for the park, that park stakeholders supported the proposal, and that, most absurdly, the real reason for the new fees is “to enhance the overall visitor experience.” Here are sample comments.

David Walters, Redwood Bridge Club: “I have met with your staff, and every time, I have been told no, no [resident] permit system, no compromise. We the people most affected by this decision were left out of the discussion. When you chose to serve as elected officials, you promised to support seniors, families, and community members. Under this policy, seniors will lose social connections, families will stop coming, and membership organizations will collapse.”

Kathy Vandenheuvel, Golden Hill community leader: “The City’s general fund has grown by 70 percent over the past decade. The budget for Balboa Park has remained essentially unchanged. Unfunded infrastructure and maintenance needs for Balboa Park have never been prioritized. To add insult to injury, the current adopted budget slashes almost all general fund [park] support other than what is assumed funding received for this paid parking.”

Nathan Williams, San Diego High Senior: “If Inspiration Point parking is taken away from us, San Diego High will be one of the schools in our district without access to free parking. We are the oldest school in San Diego. We are a Title 1 school. Over 80 percent of our students cannot afford this added expense. I did the calculation for $2.50 an hour. It will come to $1,080.” (Councilmembers later floated the idea of letting students park free and making teachers pay.)

Paul Krueger, San Diego Community Coalition: “The most disturbing thing is the Mayor’s insistence that this is going to generate extra money for Balboa Park. The Independent Budget Analyst has made it clear, and your Council President has made it clear, that this money will pass through a special fund and then go to the general fund to reimburse expenditures that we already have for Balboa Park.”

A final note: As Council meetings become longer and more contentious, it’s a deepening mystery why time limits are strictly imposed on the public but not on Councilmembers and city staff.

Electeds could save a lot of time if they quit their obsequious habit of thanking everyone in creation, especially high-profile staff. We’re sure mayoral aide Emily Piatanesi worked hard on the parking fee proposal. But that’s her job, and she is well-compensated for it.

Councilmembers should also refrain from fawning over high school students in chambers by telling wistful back-in-the-day stories about their own teenage years. It’s condescending, and it’s trite.