Using the bathroom could soon be tough to do in a number of popular public spaces in San Diego. Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 would close 38 public bathrooms to save $3 million.

“That’s pathetic,” said one man walking his grandson at Shoreline Beach.

According to the City of San Diego’s Independent Budget Analysis Report:

  • Closing 13 of the 28 bathrooms in Mission Bay Park would help save $547,000.
  • Closing 7 of the 14 portables on Fiesta Island would help save $18,000.
  • All five bathrooms on Shoreline Beach, except the ones near the Children’s Pool in La Jolla, would also shutter.
  • And the plan to close some comfort stations in Balboa Park and bathrooms in downtown San Diego would help the city save more than $1.5 million.

As a realtor who works and walks in downtown, Patty Doyle has smelled and seen some things.

“Closing the bathrooms is not going to help” Doyle said. “We have to buy a power wash machine and clean up the mess that somebody else has left behind, it’s getting ugly.”

She worries the bathroom closures could lead to a repeat of the 2017 hepatitis A outbreak that sickened hundreds and killed 20 people.

“Shelter-less people were using the sidewalks as toilets,” Doyle said. “So people were walking through that, taking it home. I mean, it’s terrible.”

Back in 2021, following a shigella outbreak, Gloria promised a toilet within a five-minute walk anywhere downtown, according to a report in the Voice of San Diego.

A 2023 grand jury report also urged the city to expand bathroom access in and around downtown.

A downtown resident says he does not mind paying extra taxes as long as there are public facilities.

“It makes sense for us to get together and find a way to fund these things. Where we can maybe pay a tax, an extra tax to keep these things going,” said Joao Brantua.

“Our problem is we’re getting charged more, and receiving less,” Doyle said about losing access to a restroom in public spaces. “You bring your family to the park, you bring your family to the beach. What are you gonna do? Have them use the water?”

NBC 7 reached out to the mayor’s office for comment and is waiting to hear back.

A final budget has to be approved by June 15th.