Shelter Island Drive has a problem with oversize and recreational vehicles routinely being stored along there, a harbor police lieutenant recently said at a Point Loma community meeting.
Currently no vehicle is allowed to park on city streets for more than 72 hours and must move at least a tenth of a mile to avoid a citation, according to the city’s municipal code.
An Oversized Vehicle Ordinance designed for Pacific Beach and surrounding beach communities is expected to return before city council this month but may not come before council until after the council’s summer break, according to city officials.
While the city waits to hear the latest version of its own ordinance, the Unified Port of San Diego proposes parking changes for Shelter Island Drive.
Unified Port of San Diego officials are working with the community to come up with a legislative solution to the lack adequate public parking.
“We want to get the community involved into how to manage the area, and in a way that it’s fair,” said Harbor Police Lt. Ken Franke.
The proposed legislation would create about 25 parking spaces for bigger vehicles and trailers that get parked along Shelter Island Drive. The rest of the street and surrounding parking lots would remain open during any future construction, Franke said.
Part of the proposed legislation would also prohibit parking daily between 3 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. to make way for scheduled street-sweeping along Shelter Island Drive, he said. The additional parking restriction would help prevent some vehicle owners from illegally dumping their septic tanks into the bay in the middle of the night by requiring vehicles to move nightly, he said.
The new proposed rules would additionally regulate parking along Shelter Island Drive to fit smaller vehicles in parking spaces.
The spaces for oversize vehicles and trailers would initially remain free, but that could eventually change to paid parking, according to Port District officials at the meeting.
The Unified Port of San Diego has been working with community members around Shelter Island to free up parking for visitors, Franke said.
Franke introduced the idea to the Peninsula Community Planning Board, Thursday June 19, at the board’s regular meeting to solicit input from the community.
It was suggested by some community members at the meeting that the new laws are aimed at restricting parking for residents only to free up parking for customers and visitors of the nearby businesses community.
The proposed Shelter Island ordinance is currently being drafted and would have to address community concerns before moving forward to the Unified Port of San Diego board of commissioners for a vote, Franke said.
The issue could come before the board of commissioners by late September or October, he said.
While the Port of San Diego tries to address concerns associated with oversized vehicles and trailers being stored around Shelter Island, the city has yet to revisit on the issue for a number of the beach communities and a possible citywide ordinance.
In January the city council voted 7-0 to approve the development of a citywide pilot program to control the proliferation of large recreational vehicles in the beach areas and surrounding communities.
The City Council asked the mayor’s office to return to the council with a fiscal report on the cost of implementing the ordinance and also requested the city attorney’s office return within 30 days of the January city council session with a draft ordinance of the legislation.
Deputy City Attorney Tom Zeleny is drafting two versions of the ordinance similar to what was proposed in January, one version of the proposed law solely for the beach communities and another designed for the entire city.
The draft ordinance delivered to council in January would “prohibit parking of oversized, non-motorized, and recreational vehicles on any public street within”¦a pilot area between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., or within 50 feet of any intersection.” The city would allow a “reasonable number” of permits for some vehicles, according the draft legislation.
Deborah Van Wanseele, deputy director of transportation, said the transportation department reported to City Council earlier this year saying that starting the new law in the beach communities and parts of Morena Boulevard would be cost-neutral. This means the city would recover the money it spends on signs, enforcement and administration, from permit fees and citations.
The City Council hasn’t addressed the issue since the city’s report but it may come before City Council as soon as mid-July, according to Councilman Kevin Faulconer.
A community meeting regarding the potential Shelter Island ordinance is scheduled for, Thursday, July 10, at Bali Hai Restaurant, 2230 Shelter Island Drive, at 6:30 p.m.
The city has been debating the oversize vehicle restriction for several years. The ordinance has come to a stalemate in the legislative process, with residents and community members on both sides arguing before city council during past city council sessions.