San Diego is proposing a lottery for 270 boat-storage slots on Mission Bay’s sand bars and higher fees for both beach storage and in-water moorings. If approved by the City Council, the annual sand-bar permit would rise from $171 to $347, while mooring fees would increase from $808 to $1,244, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
An Audit Prompted a Program Overhaul
City officials were scheduled to present the changes to the San Diego City Council on Tuesday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The proposal follows a 2024 city audit that identified unclear rules, low fees and poor record-keeping. The paper reported that about 400 people were waiting for permits even though more than a third of the sand-bar slots were vacant.
The audit, prompted by a tip to the city auditor’s fraud hotline, found that officials had lost track of 139 of the 270 sand-bar slots and had stopped billing for many of them, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. The paper reported that the waiting lists included 351 people seeking large-boat storage and 72 seeking small-boat storage, with some waiting since 2002. A city evaluation also led to the removal of 29 abandoned boats and enforcement action against 44 others, the outlet reported. The City Auditor’s November 2024 report said permit holders could renew year after year, preventing people on waiting lists from getting a chance to purchase a permit.
Fees Benchmarked Against Other Coastal Cities
The city compared sand-bar fees with those in Long Beach, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz, the Union-Tribune reported. The 2024 audit noted that San Diego charged $171 a year for beach boat storage, compared with $305 in Long Beach, $375 in Santa Barbara and $830 in Santa Cruz, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Santa Barbara’s published schedule lists a $250 annual non-refundable charge for a permit in its mooring area, according to the City of Santa Barbara.
Mooring fees apply to larger boats stored in the water in the coves of Mission Bay Park rather than hauled onto sand. The 2024 audit did not cover the mooring program at all, the paper noted, meaning this round of changes marks the first real scrutiny of those fees.
Sand-Bar Slots Spread Across 12 Bayfront Locations
The 270 sand-bar slots are spread across 12 Mission Bay locations: 10 on the bay’s western edge near Mission Boulevard, one near Fanuel Park and one at Moorland Street, according to the Union-Tribune’s 2024 audit coverage. The city plans to give priority for those slots to users of roughly 150 mooring slots rather than include them in the lottery, since some boat owners keep a dinghy on a sand bar to reach a boat moored farther offshore, the outlet reported.
The proposed system would use one permit and combined fee for a sand-bar slot and an offshore mooring ball, according to the newer Union-Tribune report. Mooring slots have a vacancy rate of about 20%, so officials do not plan a lottery for those spaces. The city also plans a separate fee for assistance relocating a mooring ball, the paper reported.
No Priority for City Residents, Officials Say
San Diego officials said they cannot give city residents priority because Mission Bay Park sits on state tidelands and California residents must be treated equally, the Union-Tribune reported. Officials considered a similar question last year while discussing paid parking in the park, including a possible exemption for city residents, according to the same report.
Public Use and Mission Bay’s Tidelands
In a separate case involving the Paradise Point hotel at 1404 Vacation Road, a 2023 California Coastal Commission staff report noted that the state granted the city public-trust tidelands there in 1945 while reserving the public’s right to fish in Mission Bay and conveniently access its waters. That case concerned hotel-site development, not boat-storage permits.
What the Rules and Park Plan Establish
The records cited here do not specify the proposed lottery’s eligibility, selection or appeals procedures. The City Auditor’s November 2024 report said existing permit holders could renew year after year, preventing people on waiting lists from getting a chance to purchase a permit. The City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department also lists different vessel-size limits by beach bar: some allow boats no longer than 14 feet and no wider than 8 feet, while others have a 17-foot maximum length.
City parks workers and lifeguards have removed abandoned and decaying boats from sand-bar slots ahead of the changes, the Union-Tribune reported.
Council Members Weigh In
Council member Raul Campillo said the changes would make the program fairer, clearer and more transparent while increasing city revenue, according to the Union-Tribune. Council member Matthew Helm also praised the proposed reforms, saying they aim to improve fairness and access across the sand-bar and mooring programs. Helm said low fees in city programs can remain outdated for years because of poor management, the outlet reported.
If the council approves the overhaul, city officials plan further administrative work, including an enforcement plan for the slots. They also plan to revise the sand-bar permitting system and update the mooring program, according to the Union-Tribune.
