SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego police has spent the past year enforcing the city's overnight parking ordinance, with a major focus around Mission Bay — and the numbers show significant activity in the first year of the crackdown.
In this past year of enforcement (July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026), San Diego Police handed out nearly 6,742 tickets. Officers also made 797 referrals to safe parking sites.
Last year, the parking lot at Ski Beach was filled with RVs, many of which served as homes for unhoused San Diegans. One man, who only identified himself as David, described it as a community where residents always looked out for one another. David worked two jobs to support his family as they lived out of an RV at Ski Beach.
"Everybody looks out for each other here. Like the people that are next to me are nice, the people down the way that they're just here to help," David said.
A nearby business owner said, however, the cramped lot discouraged customers from visiting.
"We just got families that just come out, and they're like, you know, we'd love to join, but there's just no parking," the business owner said. "Then you've got all these motorhomes, and there's all this trash, and it stinks like urine, and they're just like, yeah, you know, we'll find something else to do".
A year later, Ski Beach has a completely new look. A majority of the RVs have cleared the parking lot. A key part of the overnight parking ordinance hinges on available spots at safe parking sites. If no open spots are available, no citations can be issued.
The opening of H-Barracks allowed police to crack down more aggressively. The city says there are currently at least 100 spaces available, allowing police to cite repeat offenders and offer help to San Diegans in need.
"That's the ultimate goal," Neighborhood Policing Captain Steve Shebloski said. "Not give out any tickets, have the beaches clean and safe and open for everybody, and get people that are living on the streets off the streets".
The enforcement applies only to overnight hours — 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. During the day, RVs and other large vehicles can park at city lots and streets.
In May, a federal judge ruled that the city of San Diego can keep ticketing people who park their RVs on city streets and lots overnight. Several people sued the city over the $173 fine, arguing they cannot get to the city's safe parking lots at night. They pointed to Mission Bay Park as offering essential amenities not available at safe lots, such as running water, showers and free waste disposal. They also argued that H-Barracks was not as easily accessible from Mission Bay.
The judge rejected that argument. However, he agreed that the city violated a settlement from 18 months earlier that ordered it to make improvements to its homeless parking lot in Mission Valley. Those improvements include $900,000 in upgrades to water and electricity hookups, showers, lighting and sewage disposal.
