If you’ve been around San Diego for a minute – since anytime between, let’s say, 1870 and 2015 – you may be familiar with a state document that declares Balboa Park a “free and public park” in perpetuity.
This verbiage derives from the California Statutes of 1870 which entrusted the city of San Diego with ownership of the pueblo lands which we now know as Balboa Park.
This is relevant as the city contemplates a paid parking system for Balboa Park, raising questions about whether charging visitors to park violates the “free” clause bestowed upon the lands by our forefathers.
To put it simply: It doesn’t.
Throughout the 2010s, the idea of charging for parking in Balboa Park was a big sticking point in a proposal to revitalize the park on local philanthropist Irwin Jacobs’s dime. The Plaza de Panama project would’ve, among other things, removed cars from the park’s core through the construction of a new bridge and underground parking lot which – importantly – would not be free.
Upon approval by the City Council in 2012, the plan was bogged by legal challenges for many years, including one by the Save Our Heritage Organisation which asserted, in part, that the inclusion of paid parking violated the 1870 statute.
But a state appeals court shot down that argument in a May 2015 ruling.
The lawsuit said the 1870 statute had been annulled by future enactments by the state, including the approval of the city charter in 1889, which granted San Diego the ability to “regulate and control the use of public spaces for any and all purposes.”
While the Save Our Heritage Organisation may have lost that battle, the war was theirs in the end. The Plaza de Panama plan officially kicked the bucket in April 2019 after years of political, legal and financial challenges.
Still, the future of paid parking in Balboa Park remains uncertain. The City Council is expected to make a decision on the plan later this year.
REGARDING: “Start from scratch on trash fees” OPINION (May 11) There is still time for
residents of San Diego to send the City Clerk your voting in opposition card. This fiasco will affect most
directly seniors on a fixed income who cannot afford more pain and suffering. This very demographic
ought to be excluded from paying any additional fees. William James once said, “Without vision the people
shall perish.” Our city leaders have no vision and take no responsibility. Both major political parties are
corrupt to the core and care nothing more than getting their cronies elected. We the taxpayers suffer
needlessly. Throw them all out.
Daniel Smiechowski Bay Ho
She has been out of w0rk for quite some time however last month her check was 11,500 bucks only w0rking on the PC(Personal Computer) qw for 9 hours per day…..
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The city’s parking fee crusade for balboa park threatens to create a Balboa Park Exclusion Zone where locals enjoy the park but outsiders don’t because of the inconvenience and cost of going there.
The City is only thinking about revenue, not the fallout. Paid parking at Balboa Park just discourages use of all the park’s facilities and programs due to logistics (i e. difficulty predicting time needed for a show, museum, Zoo, etc. and/or parking time limits) and added expense. The fallout is a loss of facilities and opportunities and/or higher pricing of these due to lowered demand.
Toddler is such a devious guy. Rips out the parking on Park Blvd., now going to charge people to park in the Balboa Park, parking lots. See what you voted for San Diegans, happy now?
Exactly, it was outrageous the way they deleted the Park Blvd. parking, there was no reason for it, now we are stuck with parking in the park & that’s why they want to get their greedy hands in our pockets once again!
I think it’s wrong to start charging for parking in and around Balboa Park. You already have to pay admission for many of the museums there and of course some of the eating areas are not cheap. This should be a fun, low cost entertainment venue for people enjoy by themselves or with family to visit the attractions or just enjoy the scenery & stroll the grounds. Take away free parking and you hurt the lower income people of the city/county the most.
Why do so many people think parking is a charity? City can charge for parking at Balboa Park if they want to. I hate to break it to ya’s but free parking is not a fundamental right!
A parking fee in Balboa Park would in effect be a fee to use the park. All City of San Diego parks should be free to the public.
sweet way to go
For a while now, she hasn’t had a job. However, last month she earned $11,500 just by using the computer for 9 hours each day. To learn more,
click on my username<<<<<<
This is what happens when two political parties control the body politic.