HILLCREST, Calif. (KGTV) — In ten days, single-family homeowners in the City of San Diego will have to pay a trash collection fee. It's something they haven't been asked to do in more than a century. Now a new lawsuit is pushing back on the ordinance recently approved by the City of San Diego.
Tierrasanta resdient David Weil was in a room filled with people listening intently about the new lawsuit.
"We've been opposed to the trash fee right from the start," Weil said. "We believe that we already pay for the trash service through our taxes that are collected, so we shouldn't have to pay more, so we weren't opposed to it. With that said, we understand that of course the ordinance is passed, so we can't go backwards."
Attorney Michael Aguirre said one of the points in the lawsuit is that the proposed trash tax collection violates Proposition 218, which requires voter approval before imposing increases to general taxes, assessments and certain user fees.
The lawsuit said the collection violates the proposition by "charging trash collection fees to customers that aren't the actual costs of service."
The trash fees come after voters approved Measure B in 2022, which allowed the city to overturn the People's Ordinance established in 1919. It prohibited the city from imposing trash fees on single family homes.
"These people have hope," Aguirre said. "The one thing that we've done today is to give them hope."
Earlier this month, city council members voted 6-3 to adopt a new solid waste management fee schedule. Single family homeowners had been able to enjoy trash collection services for free for more than 100 years.
Starting July 1st, customers will now see a first-year fee of $523.20, which breaks down to $43.60 per month for a standard 95-gallon trash bin.
Aguirre's pushing for three things through the lawsuit.
- The collection services cannot exceed the cost of service.
- Money collected can only be spent on the cost of providing service.
- Rates must be fair.
