Parking Enforcement

Responsibilities

The City's Parking Division provides high quality, personalized enforcement of City, County of San Diego, and State of California regulations. The two primary goals of the Department are to ensure public safety and to manage Del Mar’s parking resources.

Safety Enhancement

Parking officers enhance safety by patrolling City streets seven days per week, year-round. They provide information to the public, report and respond to illegal activity, give warnings as warranted and write citations when necessary. Their patrols help keep traffic lanes clear, driveways open and emergency accesses available for public safety vehicles. Parking Officers, along with the City's Beach and Community Patrol Officers, also enforce animal regulations and report violations of other code infractions. All of these public contacts are conducted with a firm commitment to provide respectful professional service.

Managing Parking Space

Parking staff manage the City’s scarce parking resources by patrolling all parts of the City, monitoring meters, parking areas with time limits, and providing the public with information regarding parking alternatives. The metered parking areas offer convenient parking at the beach and near the center of the downtown commercial zone. In combination with timed parking, these metered areas aid in increasing vehicle turnover and maximize the access to parking in high-demand areas of the City. This active management does increase the availability of our limited parking spaces and the continuous presence of parking officers adds to the City's overall safety.

Operational Hours and Contact Information

Parking and enforcement staff work daily, year-round, with operating hours 8:00 am – 8:00 pm. Staff work extended patrol hours until 10:00 pm on, Fridays and Saturdays, with later evening patrol hours, between Memorial Day and Labor Day. 

Enforcement staff are dispatched via the Lifeguard Division of Community Services. For parking complaints and municipal code enforcement questions, please contact Lifeguard Dispatch at (858) 755-1556 for best service during the following hours:

  • June through Labor Day – 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
  • September, October, March, April, May – 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
  • November through February – 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

For service calls before or after Lifeguard Dispatch operational hours, please call the Parking patrol line at (858) 282-4843 or the San Diego Sheriff's Dispatch at (858) 562-5200.

For general parking administrative and enforcement-related questions, please contact Parking staff at (858) 704-3659.

Additional information can be found at the Parking Information page.