San Diego passes requirement for restaurants near coast to replace parking taken by outdoor dining

In a blow to many coastal restaurants, the San Diego City Council consented May 22 to new California Coastal Commission regulations that will require establishments closest to the beach to replace any parking spaces taken up by outdoor dining areas they operate on the street.

The new restriction, which is much stiffer than what is now in effect for other parts of the city, was approved by the Coastal Commission in December. The agency’s staff at the time raised concerns about outdoor seating on the street, which it argued could inhibit access to the beach areas, which are typically frequented by people driving by car.

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Outdoor dining venues near San Diego beaches face new requirement to replace public parking they occupy

Restaurants in San Diego’s beach areas are facing a tough new regulation for outdoor dining that will require them to replace any lost parking they occupy on public streets.

Restaurants would have to replace any public parking they occupy with an equivalent number of spaces. The spaces would be provided either onsite or through a shared parking agreement with a third party, such as a nearby business or residential complex that might have extra private parking.

Any replacement parking would have to be within 1,200 feet of the lost spaces, said San Diego spokeswoman Tara Lewis.

The City Council reluctantly voted in favor of the commission’s modifications to San Diego’s popular “Spaces as Places” outdoor dining program, which was first introduced as a temporary measure at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to help restaurateurs boost business amid an on-again, off-again cycle of indoor dining closures.

The program was such a success that the council made it permanent in 2021, codifying several design and safety regulations that allow restaurants to install platforms for seating along unpainted, yellow or green curbs as long as they are at least 20 feet from an intersection, a street corner, an alley or a driveway.

The Coastal Commission was required to weigh in regarding the coastal zone because Spaces as Places requires a change to Local Coastal Programs, which serve as planning documents for coastal communities.

Specifically affected by the council’s vote is a narrow strip of San Diego’s coastline known as the “beach impact area.” It begins at the north end of the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and runs about 15 miles south to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park in Point Loma.

For most areas of the zone, the boundary extends inland about a quarter-mile or more. The commission has described that area as a part of the city where there are chronic public parking shortages.

“The Coastal Commission rules are what they are,” council President Sean Elo-Rivera said. “Closing streets can actually be effective for improving business. This is one of the most San Diego-appropriate programs we could possibly have. It works in Cincinnati, so how could it not work in San Diego?”

City planning staff told the council that it had spent weeks in discussions with planners at the Coastal Commission in hopes of softening the restriction, but the parking condition remains. However, it did get commission staff to back off on its original plan to impose the parking requirement in some areas of the coastal zone outside the beach impact area but within a quarter-mile of the coast. Some areas that could have been affected include parts of Point Loma, a portion of La Jolla near The Village and The Cove, and some areas along San Diego Bay, such as the Embarcadero, Lewis said.

“City staff’s position was and is that a car-centric focus on loss of parking spaces discounts the many co-benefits of the Spaces As Places (outdoor dining) program, including increased opportunities for the public to access and enjoy coastal communities,” planning staff said in its report to the council.

Now that the council has acted, businesses throughout the coastal zone can soon finalize their applications for permits for existing and new outdoor dining areas.

Businesses must secure special two-year permits and pay fees for the right to erect dining structures in the public right of way.

City officials say they expect that once the new Coastal Commission conditions are finalized, the outdoor dining rules could go into effect for the coastal zone by July.