SAN DIEGO — Neighbors in the College Area reached out to CBS 8 about parking issues they say are ruining the neighborhood.
CBS 8’s Brian White visited the area and neighbors showed him how cars are being parked in front yards because of crowded driveways and scarce street parking.
“It takes away from the neighborhood because no one wants to see cars parked on the lawn. It shows a lack of care in the neighborhood,” said Jean Hoeger, who has lived in the College Area for over 30 years. She said street parking during peak hours can be impossible.
“I think that’s part of the reason the students do park in the grass because it is hard to find parking,” said Hoeger.
She pointed out example after example of people parking cars in their yards.
“Ok, so this one right here. This one does it every single day,” said Hoeger while pointing across the street. “This one over here, that bothers us. It makes the neighborhood look terrible.”
According to Hoeger, part of the issue is all of the new additional dwelling units, or ADUS, being built which brings in more renters, students and more cars.
Adding to the unsightliness in the neighborhood, plenty of trash cans are left out all week, when they’re supposed to be taken in by Friday at 6:00 p.m. after trash collection.
Many of the trach cans have red tags left by Environmental Services indicating they’re in violation.
“It just degrades the look of the neighborhood, the whole look and the feel of it,” said Jim Jennings, Chair of the College Area Community Council. “We’re just frustrated, the whole community is. You drive down the road and it just looks terrible.”
They say the city used to issue fines for parking on lawns, but as of few years ago, they stopped enforcing the rules in the College Area.
CBS 8 reached out to the City of San Diego’s Development Services Department and they responded with this statement:
“It’s not a low priority but rather front yard parking violations fall under what we call ‘alternative compliance.’ It’s been in place for several years. Matters like these are typically best addressed by discussion between neighbors with information and guidance from the City.”
Meanwhile, some of the neighbors around the College Area say they’d like to see the city issue citations to discourage this type of thing.
“We’d like to see consequences to the parking on the lawn just like there is if you’re parking in front of a fire hydrant,” said Hoeger.
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WATCH RELATED: Clairemont neighbors say new apartments will make parking issues worse (Sep. 2022).