NATIONAL CITY, Calif. — A parking shortage in National City is causing frustration among neighbors who say they either get ticketed or have to park their cars far away.
After The Courtyards at Kimball, an affordable housing complex, was built on National City Boulevard and 12th Street, neighbors say they lost parking and so did city employees.
“I support affordable housing, but the parking spaces enforced in the affordable housing doesn’t make it livable,” said Yvett Vargas.
She and her husband and three young children live across the street from the new housing complex. In their housing complex, which is not affordable housing, they have one dedicated parking spot and the other car has to park on the street.
City Hall is adjacent to The Courtyards at Kimball. As more people moved in, more people began parking on the street, leaving city employees with no parking near their offices.
The city responded by initially permitting the surrounding area from 6 am to 6 pm but after pushback, they reduced the hours to 6 am to 4 pm Monday through Thursday.
“It's not a city problem or apartment problem, it's a state problem,” said Ron Morrison, National City Mayor.
The Courtyards at Kimball is a state affordable housing project. Under the state’s density bonus law, if the city has adequate public transit, a parking space is not required for each unit.
The mayor says parking requirements for these kinds of projects don't need city approval. In this case, there are 88 parking spaces for 131 units.
“We need housing, I am pro affordable housing because we do need it in California but just going down to the local level, people need their cars, I get the 2030 goals,” said Vargas.
The state has a goal to reduce its carbon footprint by 40 percent by 2030.
Morrison says The Courtyards at Kimball is not the only complex causing a parking shortage.
He says the state is building more affordable housing in National City, which is 7.2 square miles, and adding five thousand new units with limited parking.
Morrison says he has shared his concerns with state legislators.
“We have one senator from San Francisco. His name is Wiener. He has what they call ‘Wiener bills.’ It's one after another and it's destroying our neighborhoods. He doesn't care. You try and talk with him, and he goes, 'You're being a NIMBY' and he walks away,” said Morrison.
CBS 8 reached out to Wiener’s office. A spokesperson says he doesn’t recall meeting Morrison so this conversation likely did not happen.
He said the parking requirements for the Courtyards at Kimball were reduced under the state’s density bonus program, which he says Wiener did not author or creator.
“It's mission impossible what local government is being asked to do,” said Morrison.
Vargas hopes by reaching out to CBS 8, the word will spread, and unite neighbors in other cities to fight back.
“We don't have enough resources to defend ourselves against the state program. It's the consequences of the deep root of the problem,” said Vargas.
CBS 8 also reached out to local assembly member David Alvarez and State Senator Steve Padilla for comment but have not heard back.
Morrison says with this new growth, he hopes to launch a free transit program called FRANC in the fall. It stands for Free Rides Around National City. Using an app, riders can request a ride on a zero-emissions shuttle to mass transit, the grocery store, or other central locations.
The city council also recently approved hiring more police officers and dispatchers.
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