by Katheryn Rhodes
On June 10th of this year, the California Coastal Commission will hear the case of Coastal Development Permit (CDP) 6-26-0202 (Item w17c-6-2026) to revise vehicle parking restrictions at 35 Coastal Public Parking Lots and public access areas with a consolidated CDP.
These consist of approximately 9,255 off-street parking spaces the City manages, including parking lots from Sunset Cliffs to the Torrey Pines Gliderport, and beach and bay access in Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Mission Bay Park, Pacific Beach, and La Jolla.
I am not sure if this item has ever come before the City Council for approval. Or if City staff is asking for the consolidated CDP changes on their own without prior City Council input or public hearings.
The CCC report and exhibits for this item documents that the City of San Diego has at times restricted access to parking lots at night with the use of gates and signs without the required Coastal Development Permits (CDP).
In order to get the City of San Diego to be in full compliance with the Coastal Act, the City is requesting a 10 year CDP for 35 coastal public parking lots, mainly to limit criminal activity at night.
“with fifteen of the parking lots having closure hours of 2 – 4 AM,
ten of the lots having closure hours of 12 – 4 AM,
five of the lots having closure hours of 10 PM – 4 AM, and each of the remaining six lots having unique closure hours between 9 PM – 7 AM based on their specific circumstances [Exhibit 3].
The proposed project includes the installation of updated signage and the installation of new vehicular gates at seven parking lots,
in addition to the sixteen parking lots that already have gates.
New four-hour maximum parking durations will be implemented in two parking lots in the Ocean Beach community: Newport Avenue Pier and Santa Monica Avenue.”
Twelve coastal access parking lots will have no gates.
The seven parking lots that will get new vehicular gates is not clear, but can be surmised by analyzing Exhibits 3-4 on Pages 30-33.
According to the CCC, the public parking lots at the Newport Avenue Pier and the end of Santa Monica Avenue in Ocean Beach need new four-hour maximum parking durations.
“The purpose of these restrictions is to address community concerns that people are parking all day and limiting access due to limited parking turnover. The Commission finds that four hours are adequate time for members of the public to transport and assemble recreational equipment and partake in coastal recreational activities.”
Due to the fact that the City had and is violating the law and limited vehicle parking access without the required CDP, Special Conditions mitigation measures for public access improvements include Reopening of the South Casa Beach stairway in La Jolla, new bicycle parking, expanded mobility mats, printed and digital wayfinding tools, and interpretive panels.
Again, not sure if the City Council or the public was part of this new CDP consolidation.
