San Diego tightens rules on yoga, fitness classes at city parks

SAN DIEGO — Amy Buck has been teaching consistent outdoor yoga classes in San Diego for three years.

Each class, which required donations, attracted dozens of participants, many of them students and professionals who couldn’t afford a yoga class at a studio. These served as spaces for experiences that many consider to be core to San Diego: fitness, wellness, ocean views, and community connection.

But when Ms. Buck arrived last week to lead a Wednesday night class, she was greeted by three trucks and multiple park rangers who told her she and all the other yoga instructors there could no longer offer classes. She said she was given “devastating” information. Cliff at sunset.

“It was a very tragic day,” Buck said.

Recent Update area code Caleb Olsen, public information officer for the city of San Diego, said the same amendments that ban bonfires and organized picnics on beaches finally allow city officials to crack down on classes that were never legal in the first place. Ta.

Olsen said the city’s restrictions and permitting process are rooted in safety and equal access to public parks.

But yoga instructors and local residents say the restrictions unfairly target community-based activities beloved in expensive transplant cities. They are going to fight for change.

“I don’t understand why the city doesn’t understand that this is a gift to the community,” said instructor Jackie Kowalik. “This is a gift to the people.”

When San Diego city officials amended city ordinances to prohibit businesses from operating beach events, all “services,” whether donated or not, were subject to the city’s rules regarding permitting gatherings in public parks. ” The wording has been strengthened to clearly indicate yoga classes. It is based on.

Previously, yoga instructors offering donation-based classes could operate in a gray area because regulations were unclear about what constituted a service, Olsen said.

Now, City defines “service” Defined as “the activity of performing work for others, renting furniture or equipment for an activity or event, or providing intangible goods to a group of four or more people at the same time that cannot be returned once provided” . Examples include massages, yoga, dog training, fitness classes, equipment rentals, and staging picnics, bonfires, and other activities. ”

Olsen said the Department of Parks and Recreation offers permits at certain parks based on size and safety. The city does not provide permits for yoga or fitness classes at Sunset Cliffs.

“Not only are the cliffs dangerous and known for erosion, fatalities and rescue operations that occur there, but the park is not large enough to hold worship or be open to other users yet,” Olsen said. .

The city said in a statement:

“The City of San Diego’s city ordinance prohibits groups of four or more people engaged in commercial recreational activities such as yoga, fitness classes, and dog training from gathering in parks without permission and only in certain designated areas. Permits are also required for picnics and other gatherings of more than 50 people in parks, beaches, and bays.SDMC 63.0102) has been in effect since 1993, and recent policy updates have clarified the activities covered by the required permits. ”

The updated code went into effect on March 29th.

Several yoga instructors who teach independently in Sunset Cliffs have come together and hope to persuade the city to work together on a mutually beneficial solution.

Buck said park officials gave her a warning and told her she would face criminal charges the next time she taught at Sunset Cliffs. She said park rangers couldn’t tell her exactly what that meant.

“Everything was very confusing because they didn’t give us a lot of information,” she said.

Mr Olsen confirmed that no fines had been issued. He doesn’t know how many chances instructors will have if they continue to offer classes without permission, but he said a court appearance would be a last resort.

The teachers hope they can persuade the city to change its stance.

The city currently does not have a permit for Sunset Cliffs, although they say they are willing to obtain a permit.

They want to meet with Mayor Todd Gloria to find a solution. Buck has also consulted with an attorney and is considering filing a lawsuit to change the city’s regulations.

“This doesn’t just apply to yoga,” she says. “In fact, it has implications for outdoor gatherings that we all value in San Diego.”

Instructors also have other sources of income. Mr. Buck estimates that at least 80% of participants in his giving classes do not donate. She considers her classes to be a passion project.

“Educating at the Cliffs is really focused on creating community and creating a San Diego experience,” Buck said. “For me, doing yoga outdoors has always seemed to be the epitome of San Diego.”

Kowalik, who has been teaching at Sunset Cliffs since 2017, said she always knew the classes meant a lot to people, but it wasn’t until she was faced with the prospect of them ending that she realized just how much people depended on them. He said he didn’t understand what was going on.

People told Kowalik they were looking forward to classes during a difficult time of grief and unemployment. This class helped people dealing with depression. Kowalik said at least one person said the class saved their life.

Many of the participants were graduate students, teachers, and healthcare professionals who were looking for the mental health benefits of yoga but couldn’t afford to take classes at a studio.

Even the San Diego Tourism Board uses photos of beach yoga at Sunset Cliffs and other waterfront locations to promote San Diego. “Discover inner peace and soak up the sunshine while doing yoga by the beautiful water. #VisitSD!” read the caption posted from the @visitsandiego account in January.

“There are some very negative factors in this city: rent prices, housing prices, gas. When I’m teaching yoga surrounded by people smiling at me, I stop for a moment and think, ‘This is what I want here.’ Sometimes I think, “That’s why I live here.” That’s why I love this place so much,” Kowalik said. “Reading the messages from everyone in the class tells me that people in our community feel exactly the same way.”

The city does not yet have an online list of parks that can apply for permits to hold yoga or fitness classes.

Guadalupe Parra, a spokesperson for the Department of Parks and Recreation, told CBS 8 that the department offers fitness and yoga permits throughout the city and in the following areas of Mission Bay:

• De Anza
• playa
• Tecolote Shores North
• Tecolote Shores South
• Bonita Cove
• ski beach

These locations are available at specific times set by the city, and permits are first-come, first-served.

• Approximately $5 per hour per quarter for gatherings of fewer than 50 people
• Approximately $213 per quarter for gatherings of 50 or more people.

For more information on permit applications, please call or email the Parks and Recreation Department at 619-235-1169 or [email protected].

Watch related: San Diego cracks down on businesses holding bonfires, picnics, and events on the beach (March 26, 2024)