San Diego soon will shrink late-night and early-morning parking hours at some popular Ocean Beach lots and establish new four-hour time limits at beach lots on Newport and Santa Monica avenues.
The Ocean Beach Dog Beach lot will be closed from midnight to 5 a.m., and the Robb Field lot will be closed from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
The shorter hours are part of a complex deal with the California Coastal Commission affecting daily hours at 35 lots in the city.
San Diego officials have been vague about when the new hours, which the Coastal Commission recently approved unanimously, will take effect.
City officials say the goal is to reduce crime near the city’s beaches and bays, which has included gang activity, shootings, overnight parties, illegal camping and unauthorized bonfires.
The shorter hours also might give the city more control over RVs operated by homeless people who decline to use the city’s “safe parking lots” in Mission Valley and Point Loma.
The changes don’t include shrinking the hours that beaches and coastal parks are open to the public. And nearby street parking still will be available during the hours the parking lots will be closed.
The changes come as City Council members Raul Campillo and Joe LaCava prepare a proposed city ordinance that would ban paid parking in city lots near beaches and bays.
The city must submit plans to the Coastal Commission for new signs and other changes at each of the affected lots by the end of July. But city representative Caleb Olsen said the new hours won’t necessarily kick in immediately after that.
“To enforce the new times, we are prioritizing creating and/or updating signage,” Olsen said. “This will begin in fiscal year 2027, with installation dependent on procurement and fabrication timelines.”
The 2026-27 fiscal year begins Wednesday, July 1, and runs through June next year. The changes might take even longer for a handful of city parks that will require new gates to make enforcement more effective.
City officials haven’t provided overall cost estimates, but they say the shorter hours will reduce the number of patrols the Police Department needs to conduct in coastal areas.
Many residents near the coast praised the shorter parking hours.
Wendy Rogers, who lives near OB Dog Beach, said limiting the hours of the parking lot will reduce noise and crime by people who frequently create problems there.
David Stebbins, who lives near the same lot, said it has become an overnight campground and that a broad cross-section of the community wants changes.
“Nothing good happens after midnight,” Stebbins said.
According to city and Coastal Commission documents, vehicles that are inside gated lots when the gates are closed will be locked in and subject to ticketing or towing.
Janice Childress, writing on a Facebook page called San Diego Van Life, expressed concerns about the shorter hours.
“The freedom on the road is still out there, but the chess board is changing,” Childress wrote. “Spread the word to anyone on the ground in SoCal right now so they don’t get caught off guard. Check the signs before you shut your engine off, and stay safe out there.”
A group called Save Our Access opposes the shorter hours, saying in a letter to the Coastal Commission that “seniors on fixed incomes, view seekers, tourists, surfers, lunch eaters, minorities, disabled, walkers, joggers and bicyclists all must compete for limited parking. The city of San Diego has not provided any new beach parking spaces for 50 years.”
City officials said the new four-hour time limits at the OB beach lots are about creating more turnover there, where people often occupy spots for long hours.
Coastal Commission staff objected to city proposals to more aggressively shorten hours at many of the 35 affected lots, contending that would restrict coastal access too much.
The staff described the final agreement as an appropriate compromise.
“As conditioned, the project addresses documented safety concerns with the least amount of impact on public access,” staff said.
In addition, the city must install informational panels at Sunset Cliffs Park and create an interactive map on the city’s website showing public access points, parking lots and transit routes to coastal areas.
The deal between the city and the Coastal Commission will run for 10 years.