San Diego will soon shrink late-night and early-morning hours at 35 coastal parking lots and establish new four-hour time limits at two popular Ocean Beach parking lots on Newport and Santa Monica avenues.
The shorter hours are part of a complex deal with the state Coastal Commission that requires the city to add 11 bike parking areas in Mission Bay Park and boost wayfinding signs all along the coast.
City officials say the goal of the shorter hours is to reduce crime near the city’s beaches and bays, which has included gang activity, shootings, overnight parties, illegal camping and unauthorized bonfires.
The shorter hours, especially in several parts of Mission Bay Park, might also give the city more control over RVs operated by homeless people who decline to use the city’s safe parking lots in MIssion Valley and Point Loma.
The changes don’t include shrinking hours that beaches and coastal parks are open to the public. And nearby street parking will still be available during the hours the city parking lots will now be closed.
The changes come just as City Councilmembers Raul Campillo and Joe LaCava prepare a proposed city ordinance that would ban paid parking in city lots near beaches and bays.
The new hours are particularly restrictive at three parks with documented track records of being magnets for criminal activity, city officials said.
Fanuel Park in Pacific Beach will be closed from midnight to 6 a.m., the Ocean Beach Dog Park will be closed from midnight to 5 a.m., and Robb Field in Ocean Beach will be closed from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
City officials have been vague about when the new hours, which the Coastal Commission approved unanimously this month, will take effect.
The city must submit plans to the commission for new signage and other changes at each of the 35 affected lots by the end of July. But a city spokesperson said Friday that the new hours won’t necessarily kick in immediately after that.
“To enforce the new times, we are prioritizing creating and/or updating signage,” said spokesperson Caleb Olsen. “This will begin in fiscal year 2027, with installation dependent on procurement and fabrication timelines.”
Fiscal year 2027 begins Wednesday, but it runs all the way through June of next year. And things might take even longer for a handful of parks that will require new gates to make enforcement more effective.
“As far as the gates, these will require a longer lead time and may be constrained by budget issues,” Olsen said.
City officials haven’t provided overall cost estimates, but they stress that the shorter hours will reduce the number of patrols the Police Department needs to conduct in coastal areas.
Many residents living near the coast are praising the shorter hours, which affect nearly 9,300 parking spots in La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach and Point Loma.
Wendy Rogers, who lives near OB dog beach, said limiting the hours of the parking lot will reduce noise and crime by people who frequently create problems there.
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David Stebbins, who lives near the same lot, said it has become an overnight campground where a broad cross-section of the community wants to see changes.
“Nothing good happens after midnight,” Stebbins said.
According to city and Coastal Commission documents, vehicles inside gated lots when the gates are closed will be locked in and subject to ticketing or towing.
Janice Childress, writing on a Facebook page called San Diego Van Life, expressed concerns about the shorter hours.
“The freedom on the road is still out there, but the chess board is changing,” Childress wrote. “Spread the word to anyone on the ground in SoCal right now so they don’t get caught off guard. Check the signs before you shut your engine off, and stay safe out there.”
A group called Save Our Access also opposes the shorter hours.
“Seniors on fixed incomes, view seekers, tourists, surfers, lunch eaters, minorities, disabled, walkers, joggers and bicyclists all must compete for limited parking,” the group said in a letter to the Coastal Commission. “The city of San Diego has not provided any new beach parking spaces for 50 years.”
City officials said the new four-hour time limits at the two OB lots is about creating more turnover in those lots, where people often monopolize spots for many hours.
Coastal Commission staff forced city officials to retreat from proposals to more aggressively shorten hours at many of the 35 lots, contending that would restrict coastal access too much.
They described the final agreement as an appropriate compromise.
“As conditioned, the project addresses documented safety concerns with the least amount of impact on public access,” Coastal Commission staff said.
The city also had to agree to several concessions, including the 11 new bike parking areas in Mission Bay Park and the new wayfinding signs.
Other concessions include adding mobility mats, which boost beach access for people in wheelchairs or who face other challenges, at several lifeguard stations.
The city must also create maps of the city’s coastal park facilities and install map panels in Mission Beach Park and Mission Bay Park that show recreational amenities.
In addition, the city must install informational panels at Sunset Cliffs Park and create an interactive map on the city’s website showing public access points, parking lots and transit routes to coastal areas.
The final condition requires the city to partner with the La Jolla Coastal Conservancy to re-open within five years the South Casa Beach stairway, which has been closed for three years due to rainstorm damage.
The deal between the city and Coastal Commission will run for 10 years. The new hours apply to all 35 parking lots seven days a week.
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