San Diego closed 13 public restrooms. One official is fighting to reopen them.

Almost two months after the San Diego City Council finalized the budget for the next fiscal year, council members are still at odds over funding public restrooms that were closed due to budget cuts.

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On July 15, council member Raul Campillo urged Mayor Todd Gloria to reopen the 13 restrooms that were closed at Mission Bay Park. Campillo proposed using part of a $1.8 million election fund that became available after a ballot measure was postponed.

“I continue to believe that keeping these facilities closed presents a public health and safety concern for the thousands of residents and visitors who use Mission Bay Park,” Campillo said in a addressed to Gloria. “… Redirecting those funds would address an immediate community need and help restore a basic public service that is essential to the safe and enjoyable use of Mission Bay Park. Our constituents have asked for it.”

The City Council voted unanimously June 9 to approve the 2027 fiscal year budget, which went into effect on July 1. The council made several cuts to fill the $118 million budget deficit, including $546,000 on restroom maintenance and cleaning, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. 

In his memo, Campillo wrote of his “continued concern” about closing 13 of the park’s 23 restrooms. (Courtney Zuñiga-Pittam, spokesperson for Campillo’s office, did not comment on why Campillo voted in favor of the budget despite opposing the cuts.)

“While I voted for the FY27 Final Budget, I made it clear during the budget process that I did not support the closure of these restrooms,” Campillo wrote.

In  responding to Campillo that he sent on July 24, Gloria remained firm on the budget. He said he shares the council member’s concerns about the closures while arguing that it would be “premature” to recommit those funds to opening the public restrooms instead.

“Restrooms in a park that welcomes millions of visitors each year are a basic public service, and I would prefer they remain open,” Gloria wrote. “At the same time, the City continues to face the difficult reality that we do not currently have sufficient ongoing resources to sustain all existing service levels while also maintaining the infrastructure our residents rely upon. These are challenging but necessary choices.”

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The city of San Diego has previously seen major repercussions for not having enough public restrooms. In 2017 and 2018, 582 people were infected during an outbreak of hepatitis A, and 20 people were killed, according to Voice of San Diego. And in 2021, KNSD-TV reported that the city spent $1 million annually to clean needles and human feces across the city. 

Campillo told the San Diego-Union Tribune this month that the restrooms are “basic public services” and warned the closures are leading to long lines at the facilities that remain open.

“A restroom is not a luxury in a public park,” Campillo said in his memo. “It is the basic promise that a family, a senior, a tourist, or a worker can actually use the public space we say belongs to them.”

The city evaluated “proximity to other facilities, restroom condition, and permitted use” and other factors to determine which restrooms to keep open, the mayor’s office told SFGATE in an email.

“The administration continues to actively evaluate any potential options that would allow these facilities to reopen while being responsible with taxpayer dollars,” Gloria told SFGATE in a statement. “In the meantime, the City continues to operate and maintain several restrooms that remain open throughout Mission Bay and remains committed to providing clean, safe facilities for residents and visitors.”