The city of San Diego has agreed to end paid parking in Balboa Park by the beginning of next year — and to cut in half the trash fees that residents will have to pay moving forward.
In exchange, opponents of the two unpopular fees agreed to drop a lawsuit over the trash fee and withdraw an effort to repeal the fees at the ballot box.
The global settlement ends what have been two controversial issues for residents and allows the city to prevent what major revenue losses if they were defeated in court and at the ballot. Now, the already cash-strapped city will take a smaller budget hit in the short term to ward off that bigger risk.
Councilmember Stephen Whitburn during a press conference announcing the settlement, said the deal is an example of what leaders can do when they work together. He appeared at the press conference alongside former Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who as the head of the conservative Lincoln Club of San Diego was leading the effort to overturn the fees at the ballot box.
“A real winner in this agreement is San Diegans,” Whitburn said.
The trial over the trash fee, which was currently underway in San Diego Superior Court, is now resolved. Beginning in July 2027, the city will lower the annual fee from $57 a year for standard trash service to $38.75 for those with the larger trash bins and $32.30 a month for residents with smaller trash receptacles.
Mia Severson, one of the attorneys representing a group of residents challenging the trash fees, said the city sough the settlement a week after rejecting a similar agreement because “evidence came out that I think helped to position us exactly where we are today.”
Whitburn estimated that slashing the trash fee will create a $10 million budget hit in the 2028 and 2029 fiscal years.
The city agreed to end all paid parking in Balboa Park by January 2027 at the latest. The San Diego Zoo will continue to charge for parking.
Ending paid parking is expected to cost the city $2.2 million in revenue in the next fiscal year, requiring the mayor to find additional cuts in a proposal that already has residents concerned about library hours, bathroom closures and loss of arts and culture funding.
The city has collected just over $2.35 million from Balboa Park parking meters from Dec. 28, 2026 and May 17 of this year, according to records obtained by Times of San Diego through a public records request. It brought in $347,370 during the same time frame from selling daily, monthly and annual parking permits.
“It’s a huge win for everyone, especially the museums,” said local advocate Paul Krueger, who rallied against the program. “Paid parking in Balboa Park is punitive; it hurts families and people who need it most. It was ill-conceived and poorly implemented. I am both happy and surprised that the city came to this point.”
