Parking can be hard to come by in downtown La Mesa, especially during busy evenings. But several spaces along Lemon Avenue that appear reserved for electric vehicles are sitting unused — and have been for roughly two years.
The charging stations are not currently operational, leaving drivers unable to charge their vehicles there. And because La Mesa does not have an ordinance restricting who can park in those designated spaces, even gas-powered vehicles can legally use them.
For residents, it’s an unusual situation in an area where parking is already at a premium.
“I've lived here for three years and absolutely love it,” said La Mesa resident Cassie Carroll.
But Carroll said finding a parking spot downtown can be a challenge.
“It's always an adventure,” she said. “Usually during the evenings, there's nowhere to park.”
Carroll said she had never considered using the EV spaces along Lemon Avenue. But city officials recently clarified that, under current La Mesa rules, there is nothing preventing a non-electric vehicle from parking there.
“There’s no ordinance,” said La Mesa Councilmember Laura Lothian. “Any car can park in an EV parking space, even an EV that's not charging.”
The issue came up during a recent La Mesa City Council meeting, where officials confirmed that the city does not currently have an ordinance requiring vehicles to be electric — or actively charging — to use the spaces.
That means the spots can be used by any vehicle.
For Carroll, the lack of restrictions creates a dilemma. She said she understands why drivers may use the spaces when parking is difficult, but she also wants to leave them available if someone needs to charge an electric vehicle.
“I’m not going to get a ticket,” Carroll said. “But if someone is needing that spot, I don't want to take that spot while also wanting to be able to go enjoy all the wonderful things down here in La Mesa.”
Other cities in San Diego County take a different approach.
In places including Oceanside, Carlsbad and San Marcos, EV charging spaces are more strictly regulated, with vehicles generally required to be actively charging in order to park in those spots.
In La Mesa, however, the bigger issue may be that the charging stations aren't working at all.
Lothian described the stations as taking up valuable parking space despite being unusable.
“They're just here taking up valuable real estate and not working,” she said.
The condition of the stations has become increasingly noticeable, with the unused equipment collecting dust and cobwebs.
Lothian joked that the stations could eventually become more of a Halloween decoration than a place to charge an electric vehicle.
“And it's almost like these are going to be like our Halloween EV things with cobwebs,” she said. “Maybe people put spiders on them or something.”
Lothian said she would support an ordinance reserving EV spaces for electric vehicles if the city determines the location is appropriate. But she doesn't believe Lemon Avenue is the right place to further restrict parking.
“This location is not a great space to do exclusionary parking for just electric vehicles,” Lothian said. “So yes, I'd support that ordinance if it's not in a place where parking is already so restricted.”
For now, the EV spaces along Lemon Avenue remain open to all vehicles — even though the charging stations themselves remain out of service and despite the signs saying EV charging only.
And with downtown La Mesa continuing to draw residents and visitors, the debate over how those limited parking spaces should be used is likely to continue
