Two yoga teachers sue over San Diego's stricter beach enforcement

Two San Diego yoga instructors are suing the city over its stricter new enforcement on classes at parks and beaches, saying it violates First Amendment free-speech rights.

The lawsuit by Steve Hubbard and Amy Baack, filed June 3 in federal court, also contends the city didn’t give the public adequate opportunity to weigh in before enforcement began last month.

The crackdown, which applies to classes of four people or more, came as part of amendments the City Council approved in February to a much wider city law governing street vendors.

That ordinance, approved in March 2022, requires permits and includes health and safety regulations and partially bans street vendors in parks, at beaches and in certain pedestrian-heavy areas, though they are allowed to keep operating on some cross streets and side streets.

In La Jolla, the law aimed to block vending year-round at Scripps Park, the Children’s Pool, the Coast Boulevard boardwalk between Jenner and Cuvier streets, and on main thoroughfares in some business districts, such as the La Jolla Shores boardwalk.

Faced with claims by many operators that their activities were protected by the First Amendment, city officials over the past winter analyzed which vendors were eligible for free-speech protections.

Among the activities deemed protected are political efforts, selling self-made art, fortune telling, face painting, singing and street performing.

Yoga and other fitness-related classes didn’t make the cut, nor did dog training or selling food, clothing, jewelry, soaps, oils and creams.

But the lawsuit argues that city officials didn’t adequately explain the potential impact on yoga classes.

“It is unclear how and when these provisions specifically targeting the free teaching of yoga in city parks were added to this ordinance amendment,” the 16-page lawsuit states. “Yoga was not mentioned in the staff report, agenda or minutes of this meeting.”

The lawsuit says the city did not seek to gather public input in its traditional ways.

“There appear to have been no town council or planning group recommendations on this surreptitiously inserted provision either, nor any community input or public comment whatsoever, because the general public and stakeholders were never given notice that this was even being considered,” the suit says.

The suit also contends that yoga classes are protected free speech.

“Plaintiffs are engaged in pure speech, teaching yoga to anyone who wishes to listen and participate,” the suit states. “They are not charging fees and they are not blocking or restricting access to any public space.”

The issue of blocking or restricting access is important because city officials say the crackdown on yoga and other activities has been motivated by concerns about public access and safety.

Kohta Zaiser, Mayor Todd Gloria’s City Council affairs adviser, said last month that some classes are so popular that they take over parks or beach areas. “We’re talking about dominating parking lots and rows and rows of people,” he said.

City officials say that while analyzing the street vendor amendments, they became aware that many residents were quietly upset about the increasing commercial use of their favorite parks and beaches — including yoga classes — and subsequent impacts on beach access, crowding and parking.

That prompted city officials to target activities that in some cases they contend have had restrictions already on the books but that hadn’t been enforced in years.

Hubbard says he has been cited twice for his classes in Pacific Beach. Baack says she has been threatened with citations if she continues her free yoga classes in Ocean Beach.

Hubbard and Baack say they’ve been holding classes for years without any problems.

Their lawsuit also disputes city claims that permits can be obtained for yoga classes in parks and beaches.

“In practice, the city refuses to issue any permits for this activity in any city park except Mission Bay Park, Balboa Park and Liberty Station,” the suit states.

Another lawsuit over the city’s vendor-related enforcement was filed in early May by artist William Dorsett and street performer Rogelio Flores, who say the amended law violates their free-speech rights.

They argue they should be able to operate without restriction instead of being limited to 4-by-8-foot “expressive activity” pads that are open to operators with free-speech protections in coastal parks, including La Jolla’s Scripps Park, Kellogg Park and Children’s Pool.

— La Jolla Light staff contributed to this report. ◆