Amid widespread pushback to Balboa Park parking fees, another controversial parking payment is back in the crosshairs.
San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo, alongside other downtown stakeholders, proposed an amendment to the special event parking rates around Petco Park during a press conference Wednesday.
Since September, during Padres games and other big events at Petco Park, street parking meters within a half-mile radius around the park jumped to $10 an hour for six hours.
Campillo described the fees as “punitive,” hurting residents, discouraging customers and forcing workers to pay premium prices just to go to work.
Campillo’s 5/5/5 Plan
Campillo proposed what he called a 5/5/5 Plan: Instead of $10 an hour, meter costs would drop to $5 an hour. Instead of a half-mile, only the five blocks around Petco Park would have special event rates. Instead of six hours, the period of increased rates would last for five hours.
“These are reasonable, targeted changes that still manage event demand without penalizing everyday San Diegans,” Campillo said at the press conference.
The council member pledged to work with the city attorney to draft amendments to City Council policy and city code guiding the special event rates.
Representatives from the Downtown San Diego Partnership, San Diego chapter of the California Restaurant Association and the San Diego County Lodging Association also spoke out, saying that the fees disproportionately affect hospitality workers employed downtown.
“With the City’s new parking rates spiking during special events, we aren’t inviting people with open arms – we’re greeting them with an entrance fee,” said Betsy Brennan, president and chief executive officer of the Partnership. “We need to keep downtown a place that all San Diegans are able to afford.”
Whitburn focused on Balboa Park
Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, who represents downtown, was not at the press conference. Upon request, Whitburn sent a statement emphasizing the importance of repealing Balboa Park parking fees.
“I share Councilmember Campillo’s concern about the cost of parking during special events and the impacts those costs can have on downtown residents and businesses,” Whitburn wrote. “At the same time, if the city considers changes to paid parking, my top priority will be to repeal paid parking in Balboa Park.”
Campillo, who opposed Balboa Park parking fees from the beginning, agreed with Whitburn’s efforts to fully eliminate the fees, not just delay the rollout for residents.
“Paid parking was a mistake then and it remains a mistake now. The mayor and city council members who supported it should reverse course and eliminate paid parking at Balboa Park once and for all,” Campillo commented.
Fees and the deficit
Both Balboa Park and Petco Park parking fees were instituted to address the city’s $300 million budget shortfall in 2025 without cutting critical services. Other parking changes included doubling parking rates from $1.25 to $2.50 an hour, extending enforcement hours into the evening and adding Sunday enforcement in some neighborhoods.
Fee increases hit other city services as well, like the cost of renting library community rooms, recreational fields and parks equipment.
Despite the efforts to piece-meal address the budget gap through fees, in December, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria estimated an $88.8 million deficit in the next fiscal year beginning July 1.
That estimate included projected revenue from both Petco Park and Balboa Park parking fees, so if those are rolled back, the expected deficit would almost certainly worsen.
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