Paid Parking in Balboa Park All Up in the Air as City Council Maneuvers in Face of Tremendous Pushback by Residents

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / January 27, 2026

Three San Diego City Council members proposed Tuesday suspending paid parking in Balboa Park for city residents but continuing to charge nonresidents — and they said their proposal will be voted on Feb. 9.

The council’s Rules Committee is also scheduled to discuss at 9 a.m. Wednesday a ballot measure to make parking free in Balboa Park on Sundays — the first public hearing at City Hall about Balboa Park paid parking since it took effect Jan. 5.

While three votes on the nine-member council is not enough to make a policy change, it’s expected the proposal will get additional votes from three council members who’ve long opposed any parking fees in the park.

The City Council took a separate action Tuesday to essentially cancel a months-old plan to extend parking meter enforcement to Sundays across the city. That enforcement had been scheduled to start in April.

Shrinking Balboa Park parking fees to nonresidents only and eliminating plans for Sunday meter enforcement will widen an already large budget deficit for the cash-strapped city by several million dollars.

Council President Joe LaCava said Tuesday that he expects the city to be forced to make emergency mid-year budget cuts as revenues continue to dip and expenses keep rising.

Mayor Todd Gloria, who has pushed back against criticism of paid parking in Balboa Park, said Tuesday he’s ready to work with the council on cuts to help fill gaps created by their new retreats on parking revenue.

Some critics on social media called Tuesday’s proposed Balboa Park changes weak, stressing that they fall short of the full repeal many want and that the proposal would suspend fees paid by residents — not permanently eliminate them.

The proposal to suspend paid parking in Balboa Park for city residents comes as a poll shows the new fees are highly unpopular and as leaders of Balboa Park museums and other organizations express strong opposition.

LaCava, one of the three council members proposing the Balboa Park change, said that recent backlash played a key role in his decision to propose changes.

“If the pollsters had contacted me, I would have been part of the 80% who said they don’t like paid parking,” said LaCava, who was joined at a mid-day news conference by Councilmembers Kent Lee and Sean Elo-Rivera.

LaCava said he was particularly persuaded by 51% of people participating in a poll sponsored by the Union-Tribune and 10News saying they would prefer city budget cuts over paying for parking in Balboa Park.

While LaCava said he expects attendance numbers at museums to stabilize after the initial backlash against paid parking, he stressed that city officials must take note when valued nonprofit partners speak up loudly.

“The fragility of nonprofits and institutions cannot be ignored,” he said.

Leaders of Balboa Park museums and other organizations say that declines in park visits have ranged from 20% to more than 50% and that overall annual revenue could drop $20 million to $30 million.

The Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, which has led the recent charge against paid parking, praised the proposal from LaCava, Lee and Elo-Rivera in a prepared statement issued late Tuesday.

“Today’s proposal to suspend resident parking fees is an important first step as we continue to work with the City and City Council to return free parking to Balboa Park such that we don’t impact the people of our region,” the statement said.

Lee said the new proposal is a reaction to widespread public backlash.

“We have seen and heard the clear frustration,” he said.

He reiterated his previous complaints about how half-price discounts for city residents have been handled by Gloria.

City residents must apply for their half-price discounts online, pay $5 to have their residency verified, then wait two days for that verification and choose the day they will visit in advance.

“It’s time for the City Council to stop asking for changes and start making the necessary changes,” Lee said.

Elo-Rivera agreed the intent is to “alleviate frustration.” He said the proposal doesn’t extend the fee suspension to nonresidents because the park and its amenities are funded by San Diego residents.

“San Diego residents should know they have been subsidizing the pleasure, play and profit of people from other cities,” Elo-Rivera said.

LaCava made it particularly clear that the proposal is not a step toward full repeal, touting that the plan to continue charging nonresidents means recent efforts to launch enforcement won’t have been wasted.

“This proposal maintains current rates for nonresidents and preserves the investments we’ve already made in kiosks, meters and the online portal,” he said.

LaCava, Lee and Elo-Rivera are expected to be joined in support by three council members who have long opposed any paid parking in Balboa Park: Stephen Whitburn, Vivian Moreno and Raul Campillo.

Whitburn, who has also long opposed Sunday meter enforcement, made a key move Tuesday to potentially eliminate it despite the council approving it last June.

Sunday meter enforcement has been held up by the need to create a long-promised permit program for residents who live near meters.

When Elo-Rivera objected during a Tuesday public hearing on those permits to Gloria’s staff ignoring his requests for payment plans and discounts for low-income residents, Whitburn quickly suggested the council could scrap the whole idea of Sunday meter enforcement.

And everyone else on the council essentially agreed.

“I was hopeful we could have one day of free parking in the city,” said Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, explaining she has never wanted Sunday meter enforcement. “I’m hearing now that we’re considering not charging for parking on Sundays at all, which is my original vote.”

The Sunday permits would have cost eligible residents $141 per year.

LaCava said the item was “returned to staff,” implying city officials could revive Sunday parking enforcement at some point.

Sunday enforcement was estimated to generate $2.8 million a year in revenue. Revenue estimates for city resident parking in Balboa Park are less clear, but would certainly be in the millions.

Elo-Rivera acknowledged that the council’s retreats will have consequences.

“I’m not going to pretend there aren’t going to be hard conversations about cuts,” he said.

Mayor Gloria said in a prepared statement that he’s ready to make cuts.

“The City Council adopted a budget last June that depended on millions of dollars in parking revenue from Balboa Park,” Gloria said. “If the Council now moves to suspend that program, it must also propose how to replace that revenue to keep the budget balanced. That would almost certainly mean cuts to other city services, the same type of cuts the Council previously rejected, and I stand ready to have that discussion with them.”

Gloria declined to comment on the council’s retreat on Sunday parking enforcement.

Rolando Charvel, the city’s chief financial officer, said Tuesday’s moves would worsen a $15 million hole in the budget for the ongoing fiscal year and widen an $88 million projected gap for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Charvel said the city could be forced to dip into its $207 million in reserves.

Charles Modica, the city’s independent budget analyst, warned council members that things are getting more dire for the city financially.

“There are consequences to the actions you are taking,” he said. “Revenues are coming in low already. You should be expecting to see, in all likelihood, a deficit that will need to be closed through either cuts to services in the current year or drawing down on the city’s reserves.”