Concerns over parking have resurfaced as the area surrounding La Mesa’s Downtown Village District is becoming home to an increasing number of apartments.
The latest addition is a 147-unit affordable housing complex that opened at 8181 Allison Ave.
The complex offers one-bedroom apartments starting at $831 per month and two-bedroom units starting at $995 per month, creating opportunities for affordable housing options within a few blocks of the city’s downtown village and a short walk to nearby bus and trolley stations.
While the housing project and others like it address affordability and supply needs, officials and community members have expressed concerns that new developments exacerbate parking problems in the area.
“Parking in downtown is a problem and it’s becoming a crisis,” Councilmember Laura Lothian said.
The 8181 Allison complex has 103 one-bedroom apartments and 44 two-bedroom units. However, the parking garage has just 108 parking spaces.
This disparity between the number of residents and available parking is common for newer apartment buildings coming to La Mesa. For example, a complex that will open in spring of 2027 on Palm Avenue will have over 100 units and around 70 designated parking spaces, Lothian said.
A parking crunch is looming, she said, especially as the city is trying to attract more visitors to the district.
The council recently passed a flurry of recommendations from the city’s parking commission that made changes to parking in the district, including increased meter rates and an amended parking permit program.
But what was more problematic to business owners and community members who attended the meeting was the issue of parking availability and turnover in the area.
“Those tenants are going to consume a lot of parking spaces in the downtown area,” Lothian said, adding that residents don’t typically leave their parking spaces until at least 8 a.m. when they leave for work.
City officials have floated the idea of a parking garage in the downtown village district for over a decade.
“We’ve done many parking studies in the village,” City Manager Greg Humora said during a council meeting in October. “There’s going to be another detailed parking study for the Downtown Village specific plan. What we’re looking for is what threshold is going to trigger the demand for a parking garage.”
In the meantime, Lothian said the city should consider short-term ways to increase parking availability.
For example, she suggested the city negotiate with nearby businesses for parking leases or ban overnight parking.
The parking commission is weighing a variety of options, including adding marked parking lines on streets surrounding the downtown area and adding angled spaces, Lyn Dedmon said, the assistant to the city manager.
“These are things that are actionable items that we can take now,” Lothian said. “Not a building structure 10 years from now, something we can do now.”