by The Editors on September 14, 2009
One of the last great free parking lots on a California beach will soon be gone as the City of Carlsbad, the California Coastal Commission, and California State Parks have settled a lawsuit regarding the installation of a pay parking kiosk at Tamarack surfing beach (click here for previous coverage).
Under the settlement agreement, State Parks will charge hourly parking, with a two hour minimum and a maximum daily charge of $10, the same day rate fee charged at South Carlsbad State Beach’s Ponto beach. The hourly fee has not yet been set but is agreed to be $2 an hour or less. State Parks originally proposed only a day use fee. Under the settlement agreement, the requirements of the coastal development permit for the project that the California Coastal Commission approved will remain in full effect.
The thing that sucks most about this agreement is that it’s going to push even more people up into the neighborhood surrounding Tamarack and there are way too many people parking there already. The only good news is that people with California State Park parking passes will always have a spot at Tamarack because once they start charging for parking the lot will be mostly empty most of the time.
Follow the jump for the official press release from the City of Carlsbad.
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by The Editors on June 26, 2008
According to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune the City of Carlsbad is still kicking when it comes to the California Department of Parks and Recreations plans to charge beach visitors $8 a day for parking in the lot at Tamarack.
Mayor Bud Lewis announced Tuesday that the City Council voted 4-1 in closed session, with Councilwoman Julie Nygaard dissenting, to possibly sue the state Coastal Commission for allowing the parks department to install a fee machine.
We didn’t think the City Council had it in them, but we appreciate their seemingly better-late-than-never attention to the issue.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on November 17, 2007
We got a Carlsbadistan news tip this morning letting us know of a notice that was added to the Tamarack Surf Beach sign on November 8. Apparently, California State Parks has filed a permit (#6-07-111) with the California Coastal Commission to install “an automated fee collection device in the Tamarack day use lot.” We know that in the past there have been some issues with the Tamarack parking lot and that the City of Carlsbad has paid tens of thousands of dollars to keep if free.
California Parks and Rec filed for a permit to build a “mechanical fee collection device” in the Tamarack parking lot in 1997, but that application was postponed when the Coastal Commission met on May 13, 1997.
We’re hoping this “fee collection device” is simply a tactic being used by California State Parks to encourage the City of Carlsbad to ante up, because if the Tamarack Surf Beach becomes paid parking, all it’s going to do is push all those people up into the streets of Carlsbadistan and that is not something we’re looking forward to.
by The Editors on December 31, 2011
It was almost two years ago that the City of Carlsbadistan dream of free parking at Tamarack State Beach died and the California State Park system began charging for parking. It was sad, but at $2 a hour or $10 a day, it wasn’t completely out of the question.
Well, it appears we can all forget about that hourly parking thing. Apparently, California State Parks has eliminated the $2 an hour parking in the Tamarack Beach parking lot completely.
Want to take a 40 minute run on the beach in the morning? $10. Want to eat lunch on the rocks and watch the surfers at noon? $10. Nice how they do that, isn’t it? The State should probably just throw in the towel and charge $100 a day to park. Just think how much that would help the State budget. . . and truthfully, who uses that parking lot anyway?
by The Editors on February 24, 2010
Remember those Tamarack Surf Beach pay parking warnings we mentioned earlier this week? One of our readers got one last Saturday. “The employee who left it on my car would not confirm that there would be a grace period, he said. “When asked about the newspaper and TV reports he said, ‘That’s what the media is saying.’
And from the looks of this warning, the media is right. Two more weeks of free parking at least.
by The Editors on February 22, 2010
Today marks the beginning of week two of the California State Park systems charging for parking in the Tamarack Surf Beach parking lot. With “iron rangers” stationed at both the North and South ends of the parking lot more and more people are figuring out that free parking at Tamarack is definitely over.
“The parking lot was looking comparatively empty on Saturday afternoon,” said one Carlsbadistan reader. “Made me wonder if everyone is using the free neighborhood parking or if it was just the weather?”
When people realize they have to pay to park most will probably end up crowding out the already packed streets near the beach. “A friend of mine comes down everyday to take a short walk on the beach,” one man said. “But now I think she’ll either park up on the free streets or stop coming all together.”
According to the City of Carlsbadistan the State will be giving beach visitors a one-month warning period after which they will begin issuing parking tickets to those who do not properly display their paid parking stub in their window.
State Park Peace Officers and other state staff will distribute warnings and courtesy notices to visitors during the first month of the program. At the end of that period, vehicles not properly displaying a current pass or receipt will be issued a citation and fined up to $64.
The fees to park in the lot are currently $2 a hour or $10 a day, but don’t worry about paying until at least March 14, 2010.
Tell us how these fees will affect you by voting in our Carlsbadistan Poll in the right hand column just below the weather.
by The Editors on November 27, 2009
We’re not sure exactly what this means yet, but the Tamarack parking lot being closed from November 30 to December 5, 2009 probably isn’t good.
Is this the end of free parking?
by The Editors on April 29, 2008
We broke this story in November, but now it looks like the $8 Tamarack Surf Beach parking fee is getting closer.
According to a release from the City of Carlsbad the parking fee will be discussed during the California Coastal Commission’s monthly meeting, slated for Thursday, May 8, 2008, at the Marina Del Rey Hotel, Marina Del Rey California.
Carlsbad officials oppose the proposal and have expressed concern over the insufficient noticing given to the public about the installation device as well as the adverse impacts to the surrounding neighborhoods and impact on public beach access if the proposal is approved. . . . Residents and those affected by the proposed parking fee are encouraged to fax or e-mail their concerns to Coastal Commission analyst Toni Ross at tross@coastal.ca.gov or fax at 619-7672384.
Not that it’s going to do any good, but we might as well complain while we have a chance.
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by The Editors on April 3, 2008
San Diego Union-Tribune writer Michael Burge gets on the Tamarack Surf Beach parking fee story that we wrote about yesterday with a few additional details.
Technically, a parking fee isn’t new at Tamarack. From 1994 to 2000, the state had permits to charge users, but drivers didn’t know it. The city paid the state about $36,000 a year to cover the fees and maintain the free parking, Jantz said. . . . The City Council hasn’t yet taken up the proposed parking issue, but the delay will give it time to address it, he said. . . . Ketterer said the Tamarack lot can generate $200,000 annually in fees. Part of that revenue will go the state’s general fund, and part to the parks upkeep budget.
The California Coastal Commission’s hearing on the fee request has been tentatively postponed until May 7-9, 2008 when the group will meet in Marina del Rey at the Marina del Rey Hotel. “The State Parks and the City of Carlsbad have requested a postponement on the issue so when it’s really up to them to decide when it gets presented to the Coastal Commission,” said Toni Ross, a coastal planner with the San Diego office of the California Coastal Commission.
When we spoke to Rob Houston with the Carlsbad City Manager’s office he implied that people from the City of Carlsbad are planning attend the hearing and speak out against the proposed parking fees. “We’re checking from the City side,” he said. “But citizens should be heard as well.”
As the Commission members prefer to get comments via the US Postal Service, click here for their addresses and be heard.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on May 20, 2009
It’s summer time again and that means sipping wine to the sounds of the finest traveling bands in the business as the City of Carlsbadistan kicks off its 24th season of TGIF Jazz In The Parks.
This summer, like last, only three parks will be in the mix: Stagecoach, Poinsettia, and Calavera. Here’s what we all have to look forward to:
Stagecoach Park 3420 Camino de los Coches, 92009
June 19 Canned Heat – boogie blues
June 26 Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas – zydeco
July 3 Big Time Operator – big band swing
July 10 Bill Magee Blues Band – southern blues
Poinsettia Park 6600 Hidden Valley Road, 92011
July 17 Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca – afro-cuban
July 24 Lowrider Band – latin/funk
July 31 Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars – cajun
Calavera Hills Park 2997 Glasgow Drive, 92008
August 7 The Screamin’ Primas – jump jive swing
August 14 Tinsley Ellis – electric blues
August 21 Coco Montoya – rockin’ blues
All concerts are 6 – 8 p.m. Follow the jump for all the details.
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One of the last great free parking lots on a California beach will soon be gone as the City of Carlsbad, the California Coastal Commission, and California State Parks have settled a lawsuit regarding the installation of a pay parking kiosk at Tamarack surfing beach (click here for previous coverage).
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