San Diego city councilmembers try to change Balboa Park parking fees

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- After a vote to approve paid parking at Balboa Park, some councilmembers are backpedaling on the details, and new options are on the table for residents, but those who volunteers at Balboa Park said it's still not enough.

LuAnn Benton is president of the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society, and has been involved since 2012. She is one of the dozens of volunteers who helps put on the 30 classes a week at SDMG.

Benton said there's 700 members of SDMG, and every person is a volunteer. She's worried that the city's plan to charge for parking at Balboa Park could mean the end of SDMG, making it impossible for some to continue volunteering if they have to pay.

“If you volunteer for free, which every volunteer is doing, they are not getting paid, then they should be able to park for free and not park 2 or 3 miles away," Benton said. “I’m afraid that it'll hurt us tremendously and I don’t know if itll make us have to shut this down, that is up in the air.”

The Bridge Club is another organization inside Balboa Park that said it would likely have to close if parking charges are enforced. SDMG has been operating since 1934, but Benton said there's concern of what the future looks like.

“It could be the demise, its we just refurbished this place, we just finished this past weekend, repainting and fixing things and holes that were in the wall, and so its its sad, its scary because I don’t know what’s going to happen," Benton said.

New residential rates on the table, as proposed during Monday afternoon's session by Council President Joe LaCava, Council President Pro Tem Kent Lee, and Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera include:

• Level 1 lots: $8 all day, or $5 for 4 hours.
• Level 2 lots: $5 all day.
• Level 3 lots: Residents will receive the first three hours free before the $5/day fee applies.
• Across all levels, residents would pay half-price rates across all levels.
• Tourists and out-of-city visitors would not receive any discounts.

Those would begin Oct. 1 if approved.

New rates would then begin in January, once a resident portal is planned to be established in 2026:

• Level 1: Resident costs would stay the same as above, and non-residents would be charged $16/day or $10 for 4 hours.
• Level 2: Residents $5/day, non-residents would be $10/day.
• Level 3: $5 all day, with the first 3 hours free.

The original proposed costs that were approved in July include:

The level one lot would cost $12 and $6 for residents. This includes the core of the Central Mesa area, including Alcazar, Organ Pavilion, Pan American Plaza (Palisades), Casa de Balboa, Fleet
Science Center North (Pepper Grove North), the Natural History Museum and South Carousel
lots.

Level two would be priced at half the level one rate, around $6, but not provide any additional discount for residents. This would include Fleet Science Center South (Pepper Grove South), Starlight Bowl (Federal), Marston Point and Veterans Museum.

Level three lots would be the same price as level two, but with the first two hours free “to preserve access for short-term visitors.” This would include Inspiration Point.

Here's a map of where the city considers the levels for parking lots: