Coastal Commission warns Gloria over plan to remove fire rings from San Diego beaches

The California Coastal Commission has ed a chorus of critics of Mayor Todd Gloria’s budget proposal to remove fire rings and close bathrooms at San Diego beaches, saying the move would limit public access.

Its warning comes as county Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer has also weighed in on the plan, offering to use county money to keep the city fire rings operational.

The rings are some of the region’s most popular public amenities, argued the commission in a letter to the mayor this week, urging him to consider alternatives.

The beach bathroom and fire ring closures are part of the mayor’s proposed reductions to San Diego parks — one of many city sectors that face sweeping cuts in next year’s budget in an effort to address a deficit of at least $258 million.

But the rings and restrooms along the coast are protected under the California Coastal Act, and removing the rings would require a permit from the Coastal Commission itself, the commission says.

“Fire rings and public restrooms — those are essential lower-cost facilities that help ensure that everyone, regardless of income, has access to the California coast,” said Diana Lilly, the agency’s San Diego coast district manager who wrote to the mayor.

The California Coastal Act requires that public facilities be distributed throughout an area and that lower-cost recreational facilities be encouraged and protected — aspects of the law that the commission says are at risk under the mayor’s plan.

The mayor’s proposed budget would eliminate all 184 fire rings at local beaches. It also proposes to close many restrooms, including 13 of the 28 permanent restrooms in Mission Bay Park and seven of the 14 portable restrooms on Fiesta Island.

Other proposed restroom closures include shoreline parks in La Jolla, Gaslamp Quarter downtown and seven of the 14 restrooms in Balboa Park.

The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a list of questions sent by The San Diego Union-Tribune about the commission’s letter or its concerns.

Among the many budget cuts the mayor has proposed, the plan to eliminate all of the city’s beach fire rings has drawn particularly fierce criticism in city budget hearings.

Critics of the effort contend beach bonfires — which the city previously cracked down on in 2022, when it forbade open fires outside the rings — are a San Diego tradition and a key part of local culture. They also point out that eliminating the rings would save the city only $135,000.

But city officials have said that police the move so they can more easily tell when there is an illegal fire at the beach, and that people often burn toxic materials in the rings. Some beach community leaders the removal, too.

On Thursday, in an effort to keep the rings, Lawson-Remer and City Council President Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla, announced a stopgap solution — county grant funding to keep the fire pits funded through summer 2026.

“Over the years, we’ve used county grants to everything from 4th of July parades and community festivals to mural projects, little league fields and neighborhood cleanups,” Lawson-Remer, whose district includes most of the county’s coastline, had said in a statement last week. “These grants help preserve the unique traditions and public spaces that bring people together — especially in coastal communities like ours.”

That funding would come from the county’s long-running Community Enhancement Program, which provides grants to nonprofits and public agencies for projects to stimulate the economy.

The program has drawn scrutiny for years, seen by critics as ways for supervisors to solicit political by steering millions in public money to recipients of their choosing with no public debate.

Meanwhile, in city budget talks, the mayor’s proposal to close many shoreline park restrooms, including ones in La Jolla, and to clean others less frequently has also faced backlash.

Councilmember Marni von Wilpert warned such closures could lead to another hepatitis outbreak like the one the county experienced between 2016 and 2018, killing 20 people.

“If you don’t have (public) bathrooms, the whole city becomes a bathroom,” she said.

The City Council is scheduled to finalize a budget for the new fiscal year on Tuesday.

In the Coastal Commission’s letter to the mayor, the agency also requested that the city explore alternative ways to fund the maintenance of the fire rings and public restrooms.

It pointed to the city’s consideration of charging visitors to park in beach parking lots. The commission suggested that the city use those parking fees to pay for the maintenance of the beaches’ public facilities.

Ultimately, the commission hopes the mayor will rethink removing the fire rings and closing restrooms and take those plans out of the budget.

If he doesn’t, Lilly said, the city must keep in mind that the commission would need to issue a permit for their removal.

“And there’s no guarantee that the Coastal Commission would approve that,” she said.

Staff writers Lucas Robinson and David Garrick contributed to this report.