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This kind of thing has happened before. Some years ago, the city of Oceanside installed parking meters in the Oceanside Harbor parking lots and the streets around the Oceanside Pier. They used the same reasons the La Jolla people are using now, but the real reason was to keep surfers from parking on the streets around the pier and harbor parking lots.
Of course this type of thing is unfair, because most of the people who are affected are local residents, who live here, because they use the beach and ocean. The meters may not generate much income, but the tickets given for parking at an expired one certainly do. Tens of thousands of dollars a month, depending on the number of meters.
The city will say "park in the designated lots", but some of them have time limits, most of the time you can't park in them before 6 AM. I know that Oceanside sells annual permits for city lots(about $300, I think), but there are a limited number of them sold one day during the year.
As far as going to the city council meetings and such, I hate to say this, but you're wasting your time. Odds are kayakers who park on the streets are at least one of the people they are trying to get rid of because they park there the longest and are out there at 3 or 4 AM every day. As a business owner in Carlsbad for more than fifteen years I've been to many City Council meetings for ocean and beach issues. We lost every time and suffered retaliation to boot. After the latest problem, auto repair shops dumping antifreeze, ATF, oil and gasoline directly into storm drains four blocks from the ocean, the City of Carlsbad has come by and told me to leave town or else. By the way, did I mention that these auto repair shops fix Carlsbad Police vehicles?
Sorry to say it, but our wonderful ocean lifestyle is over. Money will win, it always does. Whether you are a Republican, Democrat or Independent, I think it is time for all Americans to take a hard look at the way this nation is being run, from the President to the secretary in City Hall. Until then, I recommend you think about doing what I have to do; pack up your broken heart, move somewhere else, and come visit San Diego on vacation.
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