Balboa Park is more than a park; it is San Diego’s heart and lungs. Home to more than 17,000 trees — the most diverse tree canopy in the West — and a cultural core that includes 18 museums, the recently restored Botanical Building, the world-famous San Diego Zoo and 34 international cottages, it is a place where our community gathers, learns, celebrates and finds respite. As many as 14 million people walk its paths yearly, making Balboa Park a critical driver of our tourism economy, a sanctuary for wellness, and a cultural cornerstone for our region.
Yet despite its vibrancy, the park is showing its age. Crumbling stucco, outdated irrigation systems, abysmally maintained bathrooms, overgrown trails and neglected infrastructure tell a different story — a story of chronic underfunding and deferred maintenance that now totals between $500 million and $1 billion. For all its beauty, Balboa Park has been quietly deteriorating.
The truth is this: Parks don’t take care of themselves. Across the country, thriving urban parks such as New York City’s Central Park and Forest Park in St. Louis succeed because of sustainable, community-backed funding. Balboa Park deserves the same.
Today, the city of San Diego contributes $14 million annually. Quite plainly, this is not enough to cover the baseline maintenance of Balboa Park, let alone the ongoing needs of such a vast, historic space. Without consistent investment, we risk losing not only the park’s physical integrity but also its cultural vitality and the quality of life it provides to every resident and visitor.
It is unclear how much revenue the city of San Diego’s implementation of paid parking in Balboa Park will ultimately contribute to the annual budget. Still, that city leaders are moving forward with the plan despite its unpopularity indicates how challenged the city is in providing funding. Even with the introduction of a publicly opposed effort to increase revenue, the city will not be able to address the broader funding issues faced by Balboa Park.
As Balboa Park faces aging infrastructure and underfunding, its more than 700 Forever Balboa Park volunteers — who contributed over 32,000 service hours in the past year, valued at more than $1.2 million — play a critical role in keeping the park running. They lead tours, tend gardens and assist with countless daily operations. While their dedication helps the park remain accessible and engaging, it also highlights the urgent need for sustainable funding. Volunteer commitment alone cannot replace the resources necessary to preserve this historic landmark for future generations.
Forever Balboa Park envisions a future where the park is maintained with dignity, restrooms reflect the respect we hold for visitors, historic landmarks like the carousel are fully restored, and trails and gardens remain accessible and inspiring for generations to come. To achieve this, we must build a reliable funding framework that draws from philanthropy, corporate partnerships and sponsorships, county resources, and, yes, the collective support of San Diegans themselves.
The San Diego Zoo is recognized globally as a world-class botanical garden and leader in animal conservation. Since 1934, a parcel tax has provided a predictable revenue source, giving the zoo a stable financial foundation. This stability allows the organization to plan strategically and continually enhance its grounds, programs and visitor experiences for the benefit of all who visit.
Forever Balboa Park recognizes the need for a similar sustainable funding model to ensure the park’s long-term vitality and is exploring a framework to guide it. Whatever the plan ultimately looks like, it will require the vision and support of the majority of San Diegans to ensure the park’s legacy continues. The founders of Balboa Park, more than 100 years ago, were visionary. They left us a jewel right in the center of our city, which deserves an effort equal to the gift they provided.
Imagine what’s possible if we all step up. The question is simple: Do we want Balboa Park to continue as one of the world’s great parks? If the answer is yes, then we must act now. The park belongs to all of us — and its future depends on all of us.
The dire effects of paid parking — fewer visitors, declining revenues, staff layoffs — have worsened a problem with deep roots.
For decades, City Hall has put the park on a starvation diet. San Diegans kept hearing about master plan updates that would make the park more vibrant. But then we kept seeing the park decline as those plans were relegated to file cabinets. The result has been filthy restrooms, rundown buildings and wilting greenery.
Those same concerns prompted New Yorkers to launch the Central Park Conservancy in 1980. That flagship is the model of successful park stewardship built on citizen engagement and philanthropic support. It has been successfully adopted by Atlanta, New Orleans, St. Louis and other cities.
In a Jan. 17 letter to the Union-Tribune, James Ziegler wrote, “It’s time for the city to support an effective public-private partnership governing Balboa Park [which] already has the basics in place with an endowment and the Forever Balboa Park nonprofit conservancy.”
In fact, that idea was formally proposed following a 2019 national initiative by the Central Park Conservancy’s Partnerships Lab. San Diego was among eight U.S. cities chosen to receive $25,000 grants accompanied with what the Union-Tribune described as “six to 12 months of guidance … on how to plan, develop and maintain hallmark public spaces.”
A year later, the Partnerships Lab published a 17-page report for San Diego, “Recommendations for Balboa Park Conservancy,” with steps for moving Balboa Park from inflexible city oversight to dynamic management by a public-private enterprise.
“Many public and nonprofit park partnerships have emerged in cities during previous economic crises and have dramatically transformed and renewed parks — and Balboa Park has a similar opportunity,” the report states. “A focused, unified and multifaceted public/private partnership … is often a key component for long-term sustainability.”
The report’s first recommendation was carried out when two park advocacy groups merged in 2021 to form Forever Balboa Park. That consortium has begun transforming the park with projects like the revitalized Botanical Building made possible by philanthropic gifts.
Private support is crucial. Donors will not contribute if they think their money might be siphoned off by City Hall. Only an independent conservancy can earn their trust by establishing a firewall. This may be the strongest argument for new park governance in San Diego.
The report noted that a high-level agreement for capital improvements initially promised in 2009 “was never completed … and is a crucial missing step.” And it suggested that the county and city parks systems consider a merger “to form a parks district for joint funding, management and usage.”
The real tragedy is that the people of San Diego have taken too passive a role in safeguarding Balboa Park. We’ve waited for someone else — elected officials, civic leaders, advocates — to step up and challenge the dysfunctional status quo. That will never happen.
Some think a ballot measure to eliminate the parking fees is the solution. It isn’t. The restoration of free parking won’t cure what is a systemic ailment. City Hall will still control Balboa Park’s budget — and its future. It can continue to underfund the park, and it can devise new schemes to wring money out of it.
On Saturday, March 28, the San Diego Community Coalition and Neighbors for a Better San Diego will co-host “The Future of Balboa Park: A Community Conversation.” This is an important step toward empowering San Diegans, the park’s real stakeholders, to explore how they might protect Balboa Park by restructuring its governance.
The forum will be held at the Mission Valley Library from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. A summary report with follow-up “next steps” will be published.