Morning Report: Zoo Parking Charges Coming But City Deal TBD
EM - News Moderator 
The City Council earlier this week approved new parking rates for Balboa Park that are projected to bring in millions less than planned.
That raised the stakes for parking charges at the San Diego Zoo, which the city also counted on receiving to help close a big budget shortfall.
Our Mariana Martínez Barba pressed the city and the zoo for an update and learned that the zoo, like the city, will start charging for parking in its lots in January.
Still TBD: exactly how much the zoo, which has a city lease, will charge to park in its Park Boulevard lot and how it’ll split that money with the cash-strapped city.
Stay tuned: A zoo spokesperson told Martínez Barba that her team will have more details to share next week. Mayor Todd Gloria’s chief of staff said negotiations are still underway.
Related: NBC 7 reports that some Balboa Park nonprofits are grappling with what to do next following Council’s decision to move forward with parking charges in the city’s crown jewel.
South County Report: Revamps Coming for Rohr Industries Sites
The legacy of World War II-era manufacturing company Rohr Industries, which shuttered years ago, still looms large in Chula Vista.
In his latest South County Report, our Jim Hinch details two plans to revamp two Chula Vista properties formerly owned by the onetime manufacturing giant.
First up: The City Council this week approved a plan to turn a major chunk of the former Rohr manufacturing site into a 45-acre complex meant to cater to high-tech manufacturers that also houses offices, shops, restaurants and hotels.
Galloping forward: City officials want to overhaul 60-acre Rohr Park, once home to an employee recreation center, with upgraded equipment, restrooms, sports facilities and more. But some Bonita residents aren’t fans of that plan, in part because it could eliminate an equestrian area that some now use to exercise their horses.
Read the full South County Report here.
In Other News
- KPBS revealed that many private businesses in San Diego – including hardware store chains and Fashion Valley mall – are giving local law enforcement agencies access to their automated license plate reader data.
- Despite protests from homeless service provider Jewish Family Service, the Encinitas City Council voted to simply offer the nonprofit a half-year contract and a quarter of the funds it requested to keep running a parking lot for people living in vehicles. (Union-Tribune)
- Jacumba residents oppose a more than 600-acre solar farm that will surround part of their town – and they’ve got questions about how much they’ll benefit. (KPBS)
- San Diego State wants to increase student instructional fees to bail out its budget-strapped athletic department. (Union-Tribune)
- The Metropolitan Transit System’s Taxi Advisory Committee wants to keep driverless vehicle company Waymo out of San Diego and to lobby state leaders to give communities sway over where services expand. (Times of San Diego)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.
The post Morning Report: Zoo Parking Charges Coming But City Deal TBD appeared first on Voice of San Diego.
