SAN DIEGO — Finding parking in San Diego can be a struggle, and now new parking rules could mean paying more for the perfect spot.
San Diego City Council members approved a package allowing the city to use "dynamic pricing" to charge more during high-traffic times and charge for parking on Sundays.
At Monday's council meeting, San Diegans told the council what they really think about the changes, with many opposing them.
Shane Harris, who organized and led the charge against changes to Sunday parking, started a petition that got more than 1,500 signatures.
"Charging for parking on Sundays will not make any major dent in the city's 258 million dollar budget deficits — that's just the truth," Harris said.
While the decision to overhaul the city's parking rules is part of its plan to fix the budget deficit, Council Member Sean Elo-Rivera says there's a way to do it without costing residents more.
"We're having a budget conversation right now where we're talking about cutting hours to parks and libraries and rec centers and all of that could be paid for by people who visit the city and treat it like a playground," Elo-Rivera said.
Elo-Rivera is pushing for a city-wide parking permit which he says would provide discounts to residents.
"San Diego residents would have a simpler system for parking because they'd have that pass and we would be pulling in revenue from non-residents so that we can pay for the things that San Diegans want and need without unnecessarily burdening San Diego residents in the process," Elo-Rivera said.
According to the city, actual changes to meters and rates will be implemented over time, and residents will be notified in advance.
Despite the vote, there's still a lot of conversations that need to take place before anything changes.
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