San Diego is moving forward with its plan to eliminate free Sunday parking by creating a permit program for people in residential areas located within two blocks of paid parking zones.
When the City Council approved the end of free Sunday parking in June, council members delayed the start of the program in residential areas until a permit option could be made available.
A proposed annual permit fee of $150 was approved unanimously Thursday by the council’s Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
It would apply in three metered parking districts: downtown, the Mid-City area including City Heights, and uptown — an area that includes Hillcrest, Bankers Hill, Mission Hills and University Heights.
Neighborhood leaders in the affected areas are criticizing the proposed permits as too expensive. They’ve also raised questions about short-term renters and people who buy a new car before their permit expires.
City officials had said the model for the fee would be five existing residential parking permit districts — one in Hillcrest, one in Logan Heights, one in downtown’s El Cortez area, one near San Diego State University and one near San Diego Mesa College.
But the proposed Sunday permit fee is more than 10 times what those districts’ residents pay for annual residential permits there — $11.50. And those permits are valid seven days a week, while the new permits will be valid only on Sundays.
City officials didn’t explain the discrepancy during Thursday’s committee hearing, but the rationale appears to be lost potential revenue.
The existing residential parking permit districts are in areas that lack meters, so the city doesn’t lose any potential revenue by allowing the permits.
The existing districts were created because residents there meet the requirement of being severely impacted by all-day commuter parking generated by a nearby facility or institution.
City officials said the $150 fee proposed for downtown, uptown and Mid-City is based on a resident paying for one hour of metered parking every Sunday — 52 times $2.50, which equals $130 — and adding a $20 fee to cover the city’s costs to administer the program.
They stress that the city would reap $1,560 if a resident without a permit paid for all-day use of a metered spot every Sunday for an entire year.
Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, whose district includes both uptown and downtown, did not address the price of the permits Thursday. But he did express support for the permit concept before voting “yes” on the proposal.
He said Sunday permits are particularly crucial in the urban core neighborhoods he represents, because many homes and apartments there don’t come with off-street parking.
“There are a lot of people who have to park on the street,” he said. “They don’t have a driveway or a garage.”
That has led to metered spots being a crucial solution to parking scarcity on Sundays, he said.
“On Sundays when more people are home than on other days during the workweek, more people have historically parked at the meters as something of an overflow since the meters were free on Sundays,” Whitburn said.
He stressed that the permits are optional, not mandatory, and he said the goals are convenience for residents and potentially alleviating parking scarcity in residential areas on Sundays by allowing some people to use meters.
A San Diego parking enforcement officers issues a ticket for an expired meter on University Avenue in Hillcrest on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. San Diego is moving forward with its plan to eliminate free Sunday parking by creating a paid permit program for people living within two blocks of paid parking zones. They will be able to park at a meter on Sundays all day without paying anything. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Louise Rehling, a community leader in uptown, said in an email to the city that there is overwhelming opposition to the proposal.
“One hundred fifty dollars is burdensome for a Sunday-only benefit,” she said.
She also criticized the district boundaries as confusing and potentially overlapping. And she said it would be confusing for landlords and renters.
Maggie McCormack, a deputy director in the city’s Transportation Department, said similar logistical concerns have been raised by downtown residents and that city officials are committed to addressing them.
Residents who buy permits can park anywhere in the district where they live — including in metered spots on Sundays, when only paying residents of the area would be exempted from paying the meters. City officials said new signage will make it clear where the permits are valid.
They said there will also be a new website where residents can figure out if they live close enough to paid parking areas to be eligible for a permit.
The proposal is expected to be considered for approval by the full City Council in January, with permits potentially sold in February and March before Sunday parking enforcement begins in April.
The city’s independent budget analyst said Thursday that it’s not clear how the proposed permits will affect a preliminary estimate that eliminating free Sunday parking will generate $2.8 million annually.
“The level of participation in the residential parking permit program and the corresponding reduction in meter revenue remains unknown,” said the IBA’s Donny Nguyen. “It’s too early to tell.”
The city has already begun Sunday enforcement in many commercial areas across the city, including Pacific Beach.
The elimination of free Sunday parking is part of a much wider city campaign to generate more revenue from parking. The plan includes higher meter rates, new special event zones, paid parking in Balboa Park and other initiatives.
Carlos Perez used his credit card to pay a parking meter on Fifth Avenue between University and Robinson Avenues on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)