DEL MAR: City may expand paid beach parking

By RUTH MARVIN WEBSTER - Staff Writer | Sunday, May 11, 2008 6:08 PM PDT ∞

DEL MAR --- If the city has its way, free parking will continue to shrink in Del Mar.

Saying that visitors should contribute to the cost of maintaining Del Mar's 2 1/2 miles of pristine beaches, city officials said they are looking to expand metered parking north of 27th Street along Camino del Mar to North Beach, a dog-friendly beach at the north end of the city where the San Dieguito River inlet meets the ocean.

"Our main problem is that about 4,500 residents pay for all of the services we provide, yet about 90 percent of beach users are visitors," said Pat Vergne, chief lifeguard and director of community services for the city.

"The intent (of paid parking) is to find a way to offset beach costs," he added. "We would rather find ways to increase revenue without cutting the level of service."

On April 21, the City Council unanimously voted to move ahead with the proposed paid-parking expansion, asking city staff to gather input from residents and further study the issue.

Before parking fees could be expanded, the Coastal Commission would have to vote on the matter.

The city already charges for beach parking near Powerhouse Park and at 250 parking spaces in the city's far north and south ends.

The proposal would expand that to 60 new spaces, with 11 spaces along 29th Street and the others on both sides of Camino del Mar north of 27th Street.

Expanding the paid parking could bring in $100,000 more a year in revenue, officials have estimated.

"We're exploring it," said Mayor Dave Druker of the proposed expansion. "We need to work with the neighborhoods to see who will be affected and how. And we need to figure out the costs and come up with some better estimates as to revenue. ..."

"My guess is that it won't be in place by summer," he added.

City officials said they are still considering different paid parking devices, but will probably go with meters that accept credit cards as well as small bills, and charge $2 an hour.

Parking tickets in Del Mar ---- including fines and collection ---- already bring in a little over a million dollars a year, said Vergne. He said it costs just about that to maintain and staff Del Mar's beaches, with lifeguard services totaling $663,000 per year and beach maintenance costing about $300,000.

"I talk to other dog owners about paying to park at the beach," said Eric Sandy, a sergeant in the city's community service department, "and they are really pleased to pay a couple of bucks an hour. They say, 'What a bargain.'"

That's not including free "mutt mitts," plastic bags the city provides for dog owners to clean up after their pets. The bags gobble between $16,000 and $20,000 a year from the city budget.

City officials said that the new meters may increase turnover of the parking spaces, thereby increasing parking availability at peak beach hours.

Vergne said that the city's long-term goal is to expand paid parking in the entire North Beach area south to 17th Street and along all the side streets off Camino del Mar.

For the time being, though, the expansion being discussed is just for street parking north of 27th Street.

Only Del Mar and Oceanside charge fees for parking in lots along the beach. On Thursday, the state Coastal Commission approved a request by the state parks department to charge $8 for parking at Tamarack State Beach in Carlsbad.

Contact staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster at (760) 901-4074 or rwebster@nctimes.com.