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SAN DIEGO –
San Diego took the bold and controversial move on Tuesday to scrap corporate parking regulations in many neighborhoods in an effort to accelerate efforts to make the city less car-dependent and more climate-friendly.
The city council unanimously approved the abolition of compulsory parking for businesses near public transport or in small squares near dense residential areas.
New companies in these areas would no longer have to provide parking spaces for customers or employees. And existing businesses could instantly convert their parking spaces to outdoor restaurants or additional retail space.
Proponents, including many business and environmental leaders, said politics would usher in a slow and gradual move away from dependence on cars in San Diego.
They emphasized that the city does not require companies to eliminate parking spaces, but merely gives companies the opportunity to determine for themselves how many parking spaces they need and how they best use the space available to them.
Traffic accounts for more than 50 percent of local greenhouse gas emissions, making such policy changes critical to San Diego’s efforts to meet the goals of its legally binding climate change plan, supporters said.
“This is a way of protecting the climate while supporting economic growth,” said Councilor Stephen Whitburn, who represents downtown, North Park and the surrounding areas. “We must do both to ensure a healthy and vibrant San Diego for future San Diego residents.”
Critics said the San Diego transit system was nowhere near comprehensive enough for such a drastic move.
They emphasized that senior citizens and disabled people cannot easily use public transport, bike paths or footpaths.
They also said that many residents live in suburbs where they are forced to lead a life dependent on cars.
A group of neighborhood leaders from across town voted 21-3 against the proposed changes when they were first unveiled last spring.
Councilor Marni von Wilpert, who represents Scripps Ranch and Rancho Bernardo, said she endorsed the new policy despite some concerns.
“For the vast majority of people in my district, it is simply not possible to get on a bus,” she says. “We have no overhead lines in District 5 and we have no plans to build them, and there are no major improvements to the bike lanes.”
Von Wilpert successfully persuaded her fellow councilors to delete the language that would have resulted in the new directive being applied to large properties, only a small portion of which is near a transport hub.
Mayor Todd Gloria’s staff also agreed to work with von Wilpert to refine how the city determines what qualifies as a transportation hub.
It is now defined as areas that are within half a mile of a trolley line, a bus station, or two high frequency bus routes. Local transport must be in operation or within five years.
The directive removes parking compulsory for businesses in these areas and for businesses located in areas known as “commercial neighborhoods”, which are smaller squares and business districts that serve neighboring residents.
This is in contrast to regional commercial hubs such as the Fashion Valley Shopping Center and general commercial and industrial parks.
The concerns of Council President Dr. Jen Campbell on the new policy focused on how it will affect elderly residents and the disabled.
“I worry that reducing parking space could affect equal opportunities for these two communities,” she said. “More than 25 percent of San Diegan residents are over 55 years old.”
Campbell successfully campaigned for her colleagues to demand more disabled parking spaces in companies that decide to continue to have parking spaces under the new directive.
John Knoll, a lawyer for Bankers Hill, said the new policy would harm, rather than help, many companies.
“Residents and business people want parking,” he said. “There’s a real gap between the politics the city has and what the voters want.”
Proponents said the new policy is needed so the city can avoid long-term traffic collapse as more residential and commercial buildings are built.
City officials said the policy is based on similar changes in Portland and Seattle that have helped reduce the percentage of commuters in those cities who use cars.
The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce expressed its support.
“There will be new business development flexibility and the ability to provide customers with parking spaces where public transport, workplaces and services are already nearby,” said Angeli Calinog, a political advisor to the chamber.
The new policy builds on San Diego’s actions two years ago that eliminated parking requirements for new condominiums and apartment complexes near public transportation.
But contrary to this proposal, which only applied to future projects, the change in parking policy for companies is retroactive. That is why companies can immediately convert parking spaces into other uses.
The new policy won’t go into effect in the city’s coastal zone, loosely defined as neighborhoods west of Interstate 5, until the California Coastal Commission approves it. It goes into effect everywhere on January 1st.
“I am delighted that the city council has approved this parking lot policy reform, and I look forward to seeing its transformative impact on our neighborhoods and businesses,” said Mayor Gloria.
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