The Pacific Beach Community Planning District (PBCPD) hopes to have a final draft of its comprehensive parking-management plan by the end of the year. The current draft recommends meters in the business district and near the beach as well as paid permits for residents and employees.
Proponents of meters say they would create more parking while easing traffic congestion and bringing much-needed revenue to Pacific Beach.
Opponents believe meters would change the character of the laid-back beach community and push congestion to residential areas, where motorists could park for free.
“People should know that the final (draft) is something the neighborhood can use to guide us,” said Benjamin Nicholls, PBCPD member and executive director of Discover Pacific Beach, following the meeting.
The current and final parking proposals have been developed by Walker Parking Consultants. The advisory board hired the nationwide firm, which has offices in the Los Angeles area, using a $25,000 grant from the Business Improvement District.
The community will have the opportunity to provide feedback on meters, permits and other suggestions to Walker consultant Steffen Turoff at the next PBCPD meeting, Thursday, Jan. 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Pacific Beach Recreation Center, 1405 Diamond St.
At its Dec. 13 meeting, the committee worked to develop an implementation task list.
“It’s essentially a to-do list for the city,” Nicholls said.
The format of the plan will be the same as La Jolla’s, Nicholls said. The content of the proposal may also be similar.
La Jolla’s plan consists of paid on-street parking in the business district as well as two-hour parking in nearby residential areas. Area property owners have the option of purchasing a yearly residential parking permit for $14.
The committee also used the meeting to iron out some administrative kinks.
“There are some teething problems because the committee is jointly managed,” Nicholls said.
The group is made up of three delegates from Discover Pacific Beach, the Pacific Beach Town Council (PBTC) and the Pacific Beach Community Planning Committee as well as one at-large member from each of the area’s four quadrants, as defined by Ingraham and Garnet streets.
The committee’s chairperson, Mike McNeill, is from Discover Pacific Beach, and vice chairperson Patrick Finucane represents the PBTC. With a variety of groups involved, it is often unclear who is in charge of administrative responsibilities, such as planning meetings and communicating information, Nicholls said.
The committee will appoint new members at its Jan. 10 meeting. Residents and businesspeople interested in holding an at-large must obtain 25 signatures from residents and business owners in their quadrant.
Sign-up forms are available at Discover Pacific Beach, 1503 Garnet Ave., and at the group’s website, www.pacificbeachparking.org.
For more information, call (858) 273-3303 or email [email protected].