City Of San Diego Reverses Course On Balboa Park Parking And Trash Fees After Lawsuit, Signature Drive And Public Backlash

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1 day ago
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Richard Bailey speaks to the crowd. Bailey is a past Coronado Council Member and a past Coronado Mayor. He is currently running for San Diego Council. | Click on image to enlarge.

San Diego City Hall is preparing to unwind two of its most unpopular new fee programs, agreeing to eliminate paid parking in Balboa Park and reduce monthly trash collection charges following a legal and political backlash that turned two budget-balancing measures into major public trust failures.

Under the proposed settlement announced Wednesday, Balboa Park paid parking will end no later than January 1, 2027, while residential trash fees will be reduced beginning July 1, 2027. The agreement still requires final City Council approval, expected at a June 8 public meeting.

The deal would lower trash fees from $55 per month to $38.75 per month for a large bin starting July 1, 2027, before increasing slightly to $39.91 on July 1, 2028. The city had implemented the fees after voters approved Measure B, which ended San Diego’s century-old “People’s Ordinance” system of city-funded trash collection for single-family homes.

The rollback follows a lawsuit brought by homeowners who argued the city charged more than voters were led to believe and more than the actual cost of service allowed under Proposition 218. Opponents noted that voters were told during the 2022 campaign that fees could fall roughly in the $23 to $29 per month range, only for the city to later approve substantially higher charges.

The settlement also effectively kills Balboa Park’s short-lived paid parking program, which launched in January and immediately triggered public anger, vandalized kiosks, political pressure, and sharp attendance declines at museums and cultural institutions. Paid parking rates in and around Balboa Park included $2.50 hourly meter charges and daily lot fees ranging from $5 to $16, with resident and nonresident pass systems layered on top.

The reversal is especially striking because the city spent substantial time and money designing, studying, defending and implementing policies that are now being scaled back or repealed. Critics have repeatedly pointed to approximately $7 million spent on the trash fee cost-of-service study and outreach process, only for the city to now agree to lower the charges after litigation and public pressure.

Balboa Park paid parking also proved costly beyond implementation. The city installed kiosks, built an online resident verification system, reworked parking policy, defended the program publicly, and then watched attendance decline across park institutions. Reports showed museum attendance dropped an average of 34%, with some institutions falling as much as 60%, while cultural leaders warned of millions in lost revenue, possible layoffs, reduced programming and long-term harm to Balboa Park’s ecosystem.

The paid parking program was originally projected to generate as much as $15.5 million annually for Balboa Park-related needs, but revenue expectations were sharply downgraded after the public response and lower-than-expected usage. By spring, the program had reportedly generated far less than anticipated while coinciding with major declines in park visitation.