November 21, 2025

Valet Fee Increase Item

The San Diego City Council has approved a Citywide fee increase for valet parking spaces. The fee increase affects the cost of existing valet spaces and applications for new valet permits. Hotels and restaurants primarily use these permits to establish valet services, and are most concentrated in Downtown. The proposal before the City Council originally consisted of a $600-per-permit fee, a $5,000 fee for two valet spaces, and an additional charge of $10,000 to $15,000 per extra space, depending on proximity to the City’s recently established “special event” zone near Petco Park.

The Council ultimately voted 8-1 in favor of a compromise fee proposal presented by Chamber member the San Diego County Lodging Association and championed by Councilmember Whitburn. Under the compromise, fees will now be capped at $7,500 per extra space and $10,000 per extra space in the special event zone. The dissenting vote was cast by Councilmember Elo-Rivera, who favored the original higher fee to recoup more revenue for the City from hotel guests. The Chamber supported the Lodging Association’s compromise proposal, signing onto a coalition letter urging the Council to adopt the compromise. City staff will also return to the Council’s Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee next year for an update on parking meter utilization and revenue, including how this affects the valet parking space policy conversation.

Streetary Fee Item

In a companion item to the above, the City Council was set to consider an increase to the “streetary” permit, an existing permit the City grants to restaurants that set up outdoor dining in the public right-of-way. The permit was initially established in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was made permanent in 2021. The Council was set to vote on a thousand-dollar-per-permit increase and a massive increase in Downtown. However, the item was pulled from the Council agenda at the last minute thanks to concern from a couple of Council offices and an opposition letter submitted by the Chamber and our partners at the California Restaurant Association. We outlined our concern about the lack of stakeholder engagement on the issue, as well as the potential lost revenue for the City, given that higher permit fees would likely have led restaurants to eliminate outdoor dining rather than pay thousands of additional dollars in permit fees.