Be careful what you wish for.
Many Pacific Beach residents waited a long time for new restrooms at Law Street.
Now that they’re here, some neighbors are finding they can be more bane than boon.
“We thought they were going to be a nightmare — and that’s exactly what’s happened,” Doris Penman, who lives near the restrooms, told Pacific Beach Planning Group (PBPG) on Wednesday, June 24. “Transients are sleeping in them. Someone actually overdosed recently sitting on the toilet. There was drug paraphernalia all around.”
The County Medical Examiner confirmed that the body of Daniel Marlowe, 37, was recovered in the early morning of Tuesday, June 9 from the Law Street restrooms. An autopsy on his cause of death has not been completed. No other information was made available.
“This restroom is a significant upgrade from the old ones, and they’re more convenient for the general public during daytime hours,” testified another neighbor, Lynn Crossley, who warned, “This facility has become dangerous with transients using it at night as sleeping quarters.”
Crossley added the situation is complicated because the Law Street restrooms can be locked from the inside.
Other Pacific Beach community members are weighing-in about the problematic Law Street restrooms on the Next Door website.
“The city seems to be ignoring the problem,” said resident Paula Ryan. “It’s not just the normal homeless population down there anymore. It’s meth addicts and serious crime issues…The city doesn’t lock the bathroom doors at night because of some ADA regulations. If that was a private property, the city would have been all over them with fines and legal actions to get them to clean up their mess.”
“My husband has found used needles there in the mornings (our toddler was steps away from them once),” said Sophie Hanna, of PB North Shore Highlands South. “I have noticed that there is much more bum activity there now that the bathrooms are open again. I wouldn’t say I am afraid, but every time I open the doors I really worry about what I will find.”
“Action needs to be taken to keep this particular area clean and safe,” said Jenny Nichols of North PB. “I was so excited to see the bathrooms being rebuilt, only to have to stand right next to a girl drugged out of her mind to get a sip of water while out on a run. Why must every ‘kid’ friendly area in PB (library, Fanuel Park, Law Street beach/bathrooms) become overrun by homeless people?”
Larry Hesselgesser, San Diego Police Department’s community liaison officer for the beaches, said police have been alerted to the situation.
“We’re researching what’s going on with this to see if we need to lock them (restrooms) at night,” Hesselgesser said, noting the final decision on whether — and when — to lock the restrooms will fall to the city’s Park and Recreation Department.
“We’ll have to have (city) employees lock it (restrooms) at night, but then they’ll have to reopen them at a certain time, say 5 a.m.”
The Law Street bathroom issue is expected to be placed on the agenda of PBPG’s next meeting 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 22 in the community room of Pacific Beach Taylor Library, 4275 Cass St.