A proposal to add paid beach parking to San Diego’s shoreline in an effort to boost revenue for the city amid continued budget problems is in the mix for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
Though it remains unclear where and when that might happen, a prominent La Jolla activist believes The Shores may be unscathed.
As part of the annual budget cycle, each City Council member submits a memo to the independent budget analyst’s office with a list of funding priorities, proposals and requests for community projects that the city could fund and implement.
For council President Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla, an initial memo released last month leans more into resolving the budget woes than on specific projects in the La Jolla area. And some of the ideas for doing that involve controversial means.
LaCava wrote in his memo that in the current 2025-26 fiscal year, “we made significant progress to close the structural budget deficit. However, several challenges continue to impact the general fund, [such as] economic headwinds driven by federal tariffs and recession uncertainty, lower-than-expected initial revenue from key sources, and implementation challenges for portions of the adopted budget. … We cannot wait for these uncertainties to manifest to unmanageable scale. We must give ourselves and the public as much runway to react and to adjust. The conversations will not be easy and the public may be frustrated, yet we must make the tough choices that we were elected to do.”
Thus, LaCava backs a paid parking program at city beaches and bays in an effort to increase revenue, subject to California Coastal Commission approval.
Under the proposal, residents of the city of San Diego still would get to visit for free. Frequent users could get a “beach-goer badge,” and low-income people could get discounts.
San Diego City Councilman Joe LaCava speaks in La Jolla in November 2024. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon)
LaCava also wants Mayor Todd Gloria’s staff to study parking programs in the cities of Del Mar, which charges $4 per hour and $20 per day, and Oceanside, which charges $2 to $15 per hour, depending on location.
LaCava also notes that Los Angeles County charges different amounts for beach parking based on the season and time of the week. Daily rates range from $3 to $9 in the winter and $3 to $18 in the summer. Holiday rates go up to $20.
In La Jolla, most beach parking is on-street, except for Windansea Beach and La Jolla Shores, which have parking lots.
LaCava’s director of communications, Chris Chan, said “no lots have been identified” yet for paid parking.
As of now, “it was indicated to us that The Shores is not on the table” for the proposal, according to former La Jolla Shores Association president and longtime community volunteer Janie Emerson.
And she wants to keep it that way.
“The Shores’ beach is key to the citizens of San Diego,” she said. “It is a place where families can come safely with their families and is free. We are adamant that this continues for everyone in San Diego, especially those from the underserved communities. We feel we are the stewards of this special area for all San Diego citizens. Having it be free is key to that.”
“The citizens and their families should not be penalized because the City Council cannot prioritize what the citizens want and need and is unable to manage the city’s funds,” Emerson added.
Meanwhile, city leaders appear sharply divided over charging for beach parking after recent efforts to charge for parking in Balboa Park were criticized as poorly handled and chaotic.
Council members expressed support Nov. 5 for the general concept of paid beach parking, contending the city badly needs more revenue to provide crucial services and tackle years of overdue infrastructure projects.
But some raised questions about how much money would actually be generated, the logistics of collecting fees in specific places and whether revenue would significantly outpace costs.
Others said they have doubts that Gloria’s administration would honor the council’s wishes that parking fees at beaches and bays apply only to tourists and other people who live outside the city.
Matt Yagyagan, the mayor’s director of policy, told the council budget committee that “the administration is open to considering all budget mitigations, including additional revenues. You have our commitment to sit down with you, and whoever else may be interested, to vet those out.”
Other La Jolla projects
In past years, budget memos included recommendations for specific projects to fund. But this year, LaCava suggests waiting until the city has a clearer financial picture before executing capital projects.
Earlier this year, representatives of the La Jolla Community Planning Association, La Jolla Shores Association, Bird Rock Community Council and La Jolla Parks & Beaches produced a list of capital improvements they would like the city to implement.
They are:
• Resurface the La Jolla Shores boardwalk, also known as Walter Munk Way
• Repave all of Neptune Place and repair infrastructure and flood control systems
• Install three roundabouts on La Jolla Shores Drive
• Repair a belvedere, or gazebo, in Scripps Park that has been closed to the public since October 2023 because of erosion concerns
• Replace broken steps and a seawall at South Casa Beach
• Install adaptive streetlights throughout La Jolla. Such lights can adjust their brightness based on movements by pedestrians or traffic or even on weather conditions.
• Establish pedestrian safety measures such as:
— Install sidewalks on the west side of La Jolla Shores Drive
— Upgrade pedestrian signals throughout La Jolla
— Install a crosswalk at El Paseo Grande and Camino del Oro in La Jolla Shores
— Install stop signs at all corners from La Jolla Shores Drive west to the ocean
— Install a pedestrian-activated crossing at La Jolla Shores Drive and Vallecitos
— Add and upgrade pedestrian-activated crossings along La Jolla Boulevard in Bird Rock
In the memo, LaCava acknowledged the list but said “consideration of these [projects] should be taken once we have a clearer understanding of fiscal health from the upcoming monitoring reports.”
— San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer David Garrick contributed to this report. ♦