By Donna Frye
On Wednesday, March 18, there was a discussion at the San Diego City Council Rules Committee to consider a ballot measure proposed by Councilmember Raul Campillo to maintain free parking at beaches and bays in the City of San Diego.
According to the staff report:
“The proposed ballot measure would add a new section to the San Diego Municipal Code establishing that parking in City-owned beach and bay parking lots shall remain free of charge. The measure would not apply to existing parking meters or other paid parking programs elsewhere in the City. Codifying this policy in the Municipal Code would help preserve access to beaches and bays for residents and visitors while maintaining the City’s longstanding practice of providing free parking in these coastal lots.”
After public comment and committee discussion, Campillo made a motion to:
“Request that his office work with the City Attorney and Independent Budget Analyst to provide preliminary fiscal, operational, and legal analyses of the proposal and draft the framework for a ballot measure to for parking at beaches and bays to remain free in the City of San Diego and report back to the Rules Committee.”
The motion was seconded by Councilmember Moreno. The motion passed 3 to 2 with Council President La Cava in support and Councilmembers Lee and Elo-Rivera opposed.
Campillo’s proposal is the next step in working to ensure that the public has a voice and a vote to maintain and preserve access to our coast.
Also on Wednesday, the Community and Neighborhood Services Committee met. One of the items on their agenda was a “Resolution in Support of AB 2525″ which is state legislation sponsored by Assemblymember Chris Ward to exempt Mission Bay Park from the Surplus Land Act.
Mission Bay Park is dedicated public park land. San Diego City Charter Section 55 prohibits housing development in Mission Bay Park. However, the State Surplus Land Act regulations require the city to prioritize and allow affordable housing in Mission Bay Park in order to lease certain park properties for a period that exceeds 15 years.
AB 2525 would ensure that leaseholds can be revitalized without having to go through the Surplus Land Act process that prioritizes housing; it also would eliminate the conflicts between the San Diego City Charter and the Surplus Land Act.
The vote to support Ward’s legislation was unanimous with Councilmember Campillo making the motion, seconded by Councilmember Von Wilpert and supported by Councilmember and Committee Chair Campbell (who made sure this was docketed asap) and Councilmember Foster.
The Mission Bay Park Lessees Association, the San Diego County Lodging Association and attorney Mr. Robert Ottilie, also are on record as early supporters of AB 2525.
As of this writing, the legislation has been referred to two State Assembly committees, but no specific dates have been set. The city resolution in support of AB 2525 will be heard at an upcoming city council meeting.
Assemblymember Ward’s legislation will help protect and preserve Mission Bay Park for the public. Combined with the ballot proposal by Councilmember Campillo, today’s votes give us a reason to hope for a positive outcome.
Thank you again Donna for bringing up the plan to use the Surplus Land Act for housing on our State Tidelands in Mission Bay. Your investigative skills and quick action saved the day.
City of San Diego City Council District 2 Candidate Mandy Havlik spoke on both issues.
Rules Item 3. Sub-item F: Council Member Raul Campillo’s Ballot Measure for free parking at beaches and Mission Bay.
https://x.com/LaPlayaHeritage/status/2034629953296478491
Community Neighborhood Services. Item-4 AB-2525 Surplus lands: Mission Bay
https://x.com/LaPlayaHeritage/status/2034641094072533338
Please vote for Mandy Havlik for the Peninsula Community Planning Board today Thursday March 19, 2026 at the Point Loma Library from 4-7 pm.
https://nextdoor.com/p/TY7gm4cZDPc4?utm_source=share&extras=Njg3OTU4&utm_campaign=1773941965040&share_action_id=cc1bea44-0f76-4259-995d-1bc2787f2bfd
KR — see my personal email to you from this morning … and congrats.
Lee voted no bc of what?
Councilman Sean Elo Rivero is on the record against it, as is Council President pro-tem Kent Lee, who believes state law already prohibits charging for parking for beach access.
“I would argue right now that we are going to continue to protect parking access on our beaches and bays, and especially make that the case for our residents,” Lee said on Wednesday. “That’s why at this point, I can not support the measure.”
“ensure that leaseholds can be revitalized”. That’s why Ward’s legislation is supported, or perhaps, was sponsored by the Mission Bay Lessees Association and the San Diego Lodging Association. Chris Ward is another neo-Democrat who talks left but leans right. In AB 2525 he wraps it in language that sounds as if he is protecting public parkland, while at the same time, ensuring that much of the best parts of Mission Bay continue to be leased to private interests. Those private interests profit greatly from those leases, and then, at election time, they support people like Ward who will do their bidding. Chris Ward also voted to continue the lease for Campland, even though the area has been designated for salt-marsh restoration in the last three Mission Bay Park Masterplans.
I too am concerned this is nothing more than political theater so “the Party” can claw back some of the respect and all of the trust they have greedily squandered. Ever since Chris Ward told his constituents and business owners they should just move if they didn’t like the elimination of parking in his district for dangerous bike lane placements busy thoroughfares such as University Ave instead of installing bike lanes on safer less busy streets like Howard.
Lest we forget that Assemblyman Chris Ward (representing San Diego’s 78th District) cast a “yes” vote on Senate Bill 79, the Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, when it came before the California Assembly in 2025. The bill passed the Assembly with a narrow majority of 41 affirmative votes.
SB 79 was introduced by Senator Scott Wiener in January 2025 and aimed to legalize the construction of multi-story multi-family housing within a half-mile of public transit stations (rail and rapid bus), preempting local zoning control in those areas. The bill had already passed the California Senate narrowly (21 out of 40 votes) in June 2025 before moving to the Assembly.
To quote the band Public Enemy, “Ya can’t trust it.”
All these changes all the time. What about maintaining and fixing what already exists? There is plenty that is a mess without introducing new policies.
Make no mistake, OB Women’s Club, All these changes are profit driven. The city gets so much money from Mission Bay Park that they can’t keep track of it. But we have restrooms that have been closed for years, others that are barely usable. (don’t blame park employees, they are overworked and under paid}. The problem is with our elected officials. They do not value the park as a public resource. They only see the park as a way to make more money.
This city is a mess. On the topic of beach bathrooms that you brought up, they want to move the bathrooms at Dog Beach as a top priority for the Coastal Resiliency Master Plan, the CRMP. Those bathrooms are in great shape compared to other bathrooms and they are just about the last thing that I think about as a problem for OB-PL. They aren’t a problem and they are in great shape. I don’t think they are under water yet and they are far from it. And if the ocean does go up that far it would probably be good for the bathroom and wash off the bathroom floor.