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Council pauses Community Parking District program for two years, reallocates $1.8M to transportation
Summary
After hours of public testimony both supporting and opposing the change, the City Council voted 8–1 to pause Council Policy 100-18 for FY26–FY27 and direct about $1.8 million in FY26 parking meter revenue to the Transportation Department for prioritized streetlight and sidewalk repairs, with a new public engagement process for FY27 allocations.
The San Diego City Council voted Oct. 27 to pause the Community Parking District (CPD) program for two fiscal years and to reallocate FY26 CPD funds to the Transportation Department to address immediate infrastructure needs.
Transportation Director Bethany Bieseck asked the council to waive Council Policy 100-18 for FY26 and FY27 and to redirect the FY26 allocation (about $1.8 million) to city-managed projects such as streetlight and sidewalk repairs, pedestrian safety projects and other high-priority right-of-way maintenance within parking meter zones. Bieseck said the review of the CPD program found gaps in documentation, inconsistent contracts with subcontractors and a high share of reimbursements used for administrative expenses.
A long public-comment period featured business improvement districts, neighborhood CPD representatives and labor leaders on both sides. Downtown business groups and the Hillcrest Business Association said they would reluctantly accept a temporary pause if the city delivered immediate repairs and included CPD representatives in an annual review process. Several Pacific Beach and neighborhood CPD representatives warned the pause would reduce local democratic control of meter revenues and asked for ironclad transparency and deadlines if the city assumes funding responsibility.
Councilmember Whitburn framed the motion as a compromise: “By pausing, not eliminating, the community parking district program for 2 years and letting the city manage the parking revenue for 2 years, we are giving the city an opportunity to prove that it can quickly deliver improvements to neighborhoods with parking meters while ensuring that it also reflects community priorities,” Whitburn said before moving the staff recommendation.
Randy Weil from the mayor’s office and Transportation staff described a plan to publish projected available revenue to kick off the FY27 budget process, solicit public input, and include CPD allocations in the mayor’s draft budget next spring. Transportation said the FY27 process will budget 100% of parking revenues across meter zones as part of the annual budget cycle rather than relying solely on year-end reimbursements.
The motion carried 8–1 with Council President Pro Tem Lee voting no.
Council direction included staff commitments to provide clearer documentation on past CPD expenditures, proposed new public engagement steps for FY27, and specific priority lists so repairs can be carried out promptly if the pause proceeds. Councilmembers repeatedly underscored that state law limits meter revenue to uses within the parking meter zone and for parking/mobility/traffic safety purposes; staff confirmed those restrictions remain in force even if the city reallocates the administrative allocation for the two-year pause.
The pause is temporary and the council retained the option of restoring CPD authority after the two fiscal years if the new budgeting and reporting processes satisfy community stakeholders.
