City Council delays overnight parking hearing

Concerns about enforcement costs prompted the City Council today to delay a hearing on a proposed ban on overnight street parking of oversized vehicles in San Diego.

It would cost about $2 million annually to enforce the parking restrictions citywide, according to Councilman Kevin Faulconer.

Faulconer said the mayor’s office has asked for more time to pay for the

ordinance amid a tight budget.

“We all want an ordinance that is going to work and that is going to be cost effective and in the ensuing weeks I don’t think we have arrived yet,’’ Faulconer told his colleagues.

The ordinance, if it is ever passed, would make it illegal to park recreational vehicles, trailers, boats and campers longer than 22 feet on a city street between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Supporters say the law is needed because some San Diego neighborhoods have become campgrounds for recreational vehicles, especially in the summer.

Councilman Jim Madaffer said it was a “travesty’’ that the ordinance, which has been in the works for about five years, is being postponed over financial issues.

“I think that sometimes quality of life costs money,’’ Madaffer said.

“I think we should move forward with this,’’ he said. I think the people of San Diego and the neighborhoods deserve quality of life and not a motorhome parking lot problem.’’No date was set for when the oversized vehicles parking ordinance would return to the City Council.