San Diego City Council finally concedes on parking fees at Balboa Park

After a 5-month battle marked by protests, petition signatures, broken parking meters and smeared feces, paid parking in Balboa Park is coming to an end.

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On Wednesday, at a closed meeting, San Diego City Council members unanimously voted to settle a lawsuit filed by a collection of San Diego homeowners who previously had trash picked up from their single-family homes for free. Rather than pay to fight the lawsuit in court, the city settled, agreeing to slash trash fees and end paid parking at Balboa Park by Jan. 1, 2027. The settlement will result in a $2.2 million revenue loss for the upcoming fiscal year, according to the Times of San Diego.

“The settlement is a compromise that resolves multiple existing threats that could have forced more than $150 million in additional cuts. To reach this agreement, both sides had to make concessions,” Mayor Todd Gloria told the Times of San Diego in a statement. “… My responsibility is to protect what matters most for San Diegans, and on the whole, this agreement does that by protecting San Diegans from far deeper cuts to essential services like police, fire protection, libraries, and parks.”

In a 6-2 vote in September 2025, the San Diego City Council voted to implement the fees to fill a deficit in the budget. In April, city records collected by SFGATE showed that San Diego gained nearly $2 million in total revenue from meters and more than $334,000 in paid parking permits since paid parking began. In January, meter revenue was about $380,000. In February, that number rose to nearly $495,000 and in March, it was almost $635,000.

The fees were largely unpopular. The Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, which manages the museums inside the park, was one of the largest opponents. In a report published in April, the partnership found that museums lost an average of 34% of visitors in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period the year prior and collectively saw revenue decline by $5 million. 

With the recent decision to eliminate parking fees, the organization hopes visitation will go back up. “This gives us a real light at the end of the tunnel,” Peter Comiskey, executive director of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, told SFGATE in a statement. “While this process was incredibly difficult, the ultimate resolution is very exciting for the future of Balboa Park. This is a meaningful moment that will preserve public access to one of San Diego’s most treasured public spaces.”

The city already made concessions in February and agreed to allow San Diego residents to park for free in seven select lots. But mayors across San Diego County previously argued that their residents should also receive free parking benefits.

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In February, San Diego city advocate Shane Harris drafted a petition and an ordinance to abolish park fees, an effort supported by more than a dozen county mayors and the California Restaurant Association. Thousands of people signed the petition.

“I fought for the neighboring cities because a lot of those folks come into our city and spend their dollars and are generating revenue in our city,” Harris told SFGATE at the time. “And I thought it was unfair to treat them like they’re international tourists from around the world.” 

As part of the lawsuit settlement, San Diego homeowners will also see a reduction in their trash fees beginning in July 2027, from $57 per month to $38.75 per month. With the rollback of trash fee increases and the end of paid parking, it’s unclear how the city of San Diego plans to balance its budget.