Paying Up to Park : Del Mar May Make Motorists Buy Permits for a Beachfront Spot

Sun worshipers, surf nazis and other out-of-towners may be in for an unpleasant surprise in Del Mar this summer: They may find themselves paying not only for parking but for the mere privilege of looking for a spot.

Even residents may be forced to shell out for a permit to park in front of their homes during the summer season under a plan that has been proposed to the Del Mar City Council as a way of ending chronic beachfront congestion.

The proposed plan, to be considered Monday, would charge visitors $5 for a daily permit and $30 for a seasonal permit to park on streets west of Old Highway 101. Residents in that area would need a $10 permit for each registered car for the season from May through September.

The rules would be enforced from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, there would be two hours of free parking, or a two-hour grace period, for parkers without permits in the parking zone.

The plan, recommended by the city’s Traffic Parking Advisory Committee, has already attracted opposition from the city’s Chamber of Commerce and from residents who live in the proposed permit area.

“Without a doubt we have a parking problem in Del Mar,” said Bill Canepa, a member of the chamber board. “The plan needs to be perceived to be fair to visitors to the community as well as to the citizens. I hate to see us get a reputation as being an elitist community.

“I’d like to see the proposal turned over to the city manager’s office for a possible solution,” Canepa added. “I’m concerned that administering the plan might prove more burdensome than the benefits that might come out of it.”

Proponents on the committee say the permit system will generate income for the city while alleviating parking congestion near the beach. “There’s no place for the people who live down there (by the beach) to park,” said Barbara Stegman, a committee member.

Stegman said the plan, expected to cost $32,500 a year and to generate $300,000 in annual income, is based on a similar one in Hermosa Beach. She also noted that the trend in the county is toward paid parking near beaches.

“There’ll be paid parking in the entire coastal area,” Stegman predicted. “We’ll be the only place that doesn’t have paid parking.”

Under the plan, daily permits would be sold at a kiosk at 15th Street and Coast Boulevard. Daily and seasonal passes could also be purchased at City Hall. Those who buy a permit but cannot find a spot could get a refund or use the pass on another day.

“Recreational commuters” who have a “detrimental effect” on Del Mar’s health, safety and welfare are cited in the advisory committee report as the main reason for permit parking. According to the report, the commuters:

- Increase traffic volume and parking.

- Hinder access of residents to their homes.

- Exacerbate noise and air pollution problems and create “new litter and trash problems.”

- Boost crime.

- Threaten the residential character of the neighborhoods.

Meter System Spurned

The committee rejected the idea of parking meters because of the higher start-up costs and a concern that residents would not want them in front of their houses. Permits were considered easier to implement and to drop if the scheme didn’t work.

Some residents of the parking permit area have signed a letter to the City Council protesting the plan. One of them, Gene Eagles, manages a bookstore along Camino Del Mar. He lives in an apartment and parks his car on the street.

“My fury would be greatly aroused if it is approved,” Eagles said. “I’d be tempted to ignore any tickets for 20 years if they started ticketing in front of my own house. I think it is unjust.”

Maria DeMarco, who lives a block from the beach on Ocean Front Drive, said she did not like the idea of a permit system being used to keep people away from the beach. “I think that charging people won’t necessarily deter them from parking,” DeMarco said. “They’ll probably find other illegal places, and there’ll be more problems.”

The traffic parking committee will present the plan at Monday’s 6 p.m. City Council meeting. The council plans to a hold a public hearing at a later date before it votes on the parking plan.

The parking permit area includes streets west of Camino Del Mar (Highway 101).