Parking at The Lumberyard was still free when the Union-Tribune reported on it September 23. New posts and signs went up across the shopping center in September with a full rate card, a QR code and the words "coming soon." Then the city pointed to one sentence in the Encinitas Municipal Code. That sentence says required off-street parking has to stay free.
So the signs got ahead of the paperwork. They describe a system that hasn't launched and that city officials say may conflict with local rules. A city spokesperson also couldn't say whether the property manager had applied for the permits paid parking would need. The center's restaurants, shops and studios sit on the east side of Coast Highway 101. If you use them regularly, the signs and what the code allows are two separate questions.
What the posted signs say
Cornerstone Property Management manages The Lumberyard. The company put up the signs earlier in September. The Union-Tribune reported they went up on a Friday, the week before its September 23 story. Here's what the signs list:
| Posted term | What the sign says |
|---|---|
| Hourly rate | Starts at $3 for one hour |
| Flat rate | $20, valid until 11 p.m. |
| Daily maximum | $45, with rates that vary by demand |
| Current pricing | Scan a QR code for rates, including taxes and fees |
| Customer validation | Two hours free at participating businesses |
| Enforcement | Around the clock |
| Operator | Parklinq |
The $3 figure is a starting point, not a fixed price. With rates that vary by demand and a $45 daily cap, a busy evening could cost much more than a quiet Tuesday morning. The QR code is the only place the signs say the current price will appear.
"Two hours free" starts with a payment
The two free hours are printed big at the top of the signs. The fine print at the bottom changes how they work. Free parking applies only after you get a validation code from a business in the center, and the instructions say "Pay for parking first," then get the refund through the business. So a quick coffee run would start with a charge that gets refunded later, not with a free spot.
That order caused trouble on the first day. Aine Gaines is a lifelong Encinitas resident who also works at Magical Child. She told the Union-Tribune that some customers tried to pay through the online system the day the signs went up. The system took their money even though it wasn't supposed to be running yet, and the businesses couldn't issue refunds because they didn't have the validation codes. "The first day was a nightmare," Gaines said.
The system relies on data too. Juli Risner owns Grounded, a furniture company that has been at The Lumberyard for 18 years. She said store owners were asked to send in their employees' names, phone numbers and license plates so staff could park for free. She said the businesses hadn't been told how that information would be used or protected. As of the Union-Tribune's report, she still hadn't received the validation code information either.
Parklinq is a Hawaii-based company. It builds parking enforcement systems for "visitor-heavy communities." Its website says locals can verify residency by holding a driver's license up to a phone camera to unlock free or resident rates. No reporting so far says whether The Lumberyard's version would include a resident rate. The signs described in both news reports mention only the validation refund.
The sentence in the city code
The Coast News reported that the plan appears to conflict with Section 30.54.020, subsection F, of the Encinitas Municipal Code, which covers off-street parking. The key sentence reads:
"All required off-street parking spaces shall be designated, located, constructed, and maintained so as to be fully usable during workday periods or as needed by the use of the premises, and shall be permanently available without charge to all uses as intended under this title. Valet parking service, with or without charge, may be permitted upon the issuance of a minor use permit."
The key word is "required." Spaces a property must provide under the code are supposed to be "permanently available without charge." The same paragraph allows charging for valet parking with a minor use permit. City officials told The Coast News the paid-parking plan may violate the code. At press time, a city spokesperson said it was still unclear whether Cornerstone had applied for permits.
That's why the rate card may not be the final word. The open question is whether The Lumberyard can charge at all under the code. Until the city and property management settle that, the rates on the posts are a proposal.
Where the businesses stand
The tenants have been the most public voices, and they don't all agree. Meri Brice directs the Encinitas 101 MainStreet Association and owns Magical Child, which has been at its current Lumberyard location for 27 years. She told The Coast News that "it's bad for business for everybody." She said business owners "weren't notified about anything" before the rollout. In her view, even two free hours with validation wouldn't give customers enough time to use the center's complimentary services.
Risner's concern is drive-by customers. People who see fee-to-park signs while circling the lot may decide to shop somewhere else. For a small retailer with slim margins, losing even a few customers matters.
Not everyone was opposed. The Union-Tribune reported that employees at several businesses shrugged when asked. One woman, who declined to give her name, said the plan could help if it freed up spaces at the busier southern end of the center. She also said Lumberyard workers had been told they would be exempt from the fees. Employees at several businesses said the lots are rarely full, except during special events like classic car nights.
The management company hasn't explained its reasons. A Cornerstone representative told the Union-Tribune the company had no public comment and that "parking is currently still free." Donna Nelson of Cornerstone told The Coast News that the owners hadn't released any information about the reasoning behind the change.
How the block compares next door
Paid parking isn't new on this stretch of the 101. Pacific Station is the newer mixed-use development just north of The Lumberyard. It charges for parking if a vehicle stays longer than an hour in its underground structure. That one-hour rule comes from the same September 23 report, so check the posted terms at the garage before you count on it.
The two systems are set up differently. Pacific Station's free period comes first and charges start later. The Lumberyard's posted plan charges first and refunds later. On a short errand, that's the difference between never handling payment and handling it twice.
What the September reporting establishes
Employees told the Union-Tribune on September 23 that they had heard collection might start later that month. The Coast News report six days later still described the signs as announcing paid parking "coming soon," and it reported no launch date.
For your next visit, here's what's on the record:
- On September 23, the Union-Tribune reported that parking was still free and the program hadn't launched.
- On the first day the signs were up, some payments went through before businesses had validation codes to issue refunds.
- If the system launches as posted, the free two hours come as a refund after you pay, through a validation code from a participating business.
- The city's position, as reported September 29, is that the plan may conflict with Section 30.54.020(F), and it was unclear whether permits had been requested.
The next real update will come from the city or from Cornerstone, not from the signs on the posts.
Changes to a shopping center like The Lumberyard affect daily errands, and they can also come up when buyers ask what it's like to live near downtown Encinitas. At Karen Morton, we follow updates like this so you don't have to piece them together yourself. If you're thinking about how downtown Encinitas will look to buyers this season, request a complimentary market & staging consultation.
