It’s the end of an era at Balboa Park: The San Diego City Council voted on Monday in favor of paid
Parking in and around the park.

Supporters of the move said they need the money to help make up the city’s budget deficit of more than $250 million.

More than a hundred people packed city council chambers to fight for free parking at the park, but, in the end, councilmembers voted in favor of a three-tiered system that would be cheaper for residents and more
expensive for non-residents than a recent proposal forwarded by city staff.

San Diego High School students who protested paid parking at Balboa Park got a real-life civics lesson after city councilmembers agreed they shouldn’t have to pay more than a thousand dollars a year to park at Inspiration Point, since the school doesn’t have student parking.

“It would look like not being able to pay rent and having to take public transportation,” San Diego High student Zaria Hamilton said, adding that it would have been a struggle for family members to come up with the money.

After hours of public comment and deliberation from all, they voted 6-2 in favor of the program. Councilmembers Vivian Morena and Stephen Whitburn were opposed; Raul Campillo was absent from the vote.

“I will not support making people pay to park there,” Whitburn said, in part, in a statement released after the vote. “Families, seniors and students should be able to enjoy the park without worrying about the cost of parking or the risk of a ticket if they don’t get back to their car in time.”

Parking costs were softened for park staff, volunteers and club members, who will be allowed to purchase quarterly and annual Passes.

Council president Kent Lee called it “a parking program [that] prioritizes residents of San Diego here today but maximizes recovery of costs from visitors and, especially tourists.”

The costs break down as follows:

Tier 1 lots (Space Theater, Casa de Balboa, Alcazar, Organ Pavilion, Bea Evenson, Palisades and South Carousel)
o Non-resident rate: $16 per day and $10 for up to 4 hours
o Resident rate: $8 per day and $5 for up to 4 hours

Tier 2 lots (Pepper Grove, Federal, Upper Inspiration Point and Marston Point)
o Non-resident rate: $10 per day
o Resident rate: $5 per day

Tier 3 lot (Lower Inspiration Point)
o Non-resident rate: $10 per day with the first 3 hours free
o Resident rate: $5 per day with the first 3 hours free

“I appreciate this leans harder on non-residents,” said Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera, who had been calling for just that. “It’s important we do that. Every dollar we do not receive from non-residents is a dollar San Diego residents are subsidizing for people’s vacations and trips into the city, and we shouldn’t be asking them to do that, and we certainly can’t afford to do that as a city. “

Paid parking is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1 at the latest. Councilmembers still have to figure out how much quarterly and annual passes will cost for staff and volunteers.

On Monday, the city council also approved parking meter zones along 6th Avenue and Park Boulevard — and, within the park, along Balboa Drive, El Prado, Juniper Road, Presidents Way, Quince Drive and Village Place — at $2.50 an hour.

After the vote, San Diego mayor Todd Gloria released a statement highlighting the fact that, if the amount of revenue raised by parking in the park falls short of projections, mid-year cuts to the city budget will be necessary.

“There is still work to be done to realize this vision, as the program approved today falls short of the aggressive revenue assumptions for the program in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget adopted in June — a budget that, as Budget Committee Chair Henry Foster noted tonight, was based on shaky revenue assumptions by council,” Gloria’s message said, in part.

The city and zoo are still working out how much it will cost to park in the zoo lot, though the zoo has said that parking will be free for members.