TALMADGE - A group of San Diego homeowners is pushing to stop any trash fees for homeowners. ABC 10News spoke to one San Diego resident who said he's frustrated at the city.
"I'm optimistic that we've gotten this far and that the case is still is alive," said Paul Krueger, who's moving his trash bins to the curb in the Talmadge neighborhood of San Diego.
He's one of several homeowners suing the city to try and stop the monthly trash fees on single-family homes.
The homeowners are requesting an injunction.
"If we are able to get the preliminary injunction, the judge basically says, stop," said Michael Aguirre, who's the attorney representing the residents pushing back against the trash fees in the lawsuit.
"Normally in the law you sue someone for damages," said Aguirre. "And those are basically common law damage cases. This is what is known as an equitable remedy. and in law school we study about remedies. And so temporary restraining orders, injunctions, those are the kinds of things that you use when just collecting money won't work."
To give you some background, back in 2022, voters approved Measure B, which ended the no-fee trash pick-up for the majority of single family homes in the city.
There was a very thin margin for the vote. 50.48% supported the measure.
At that time, voters were told the monthly fee would be about $23 to $29.
"The vote to approve it was so narrow that I think if people knew the true cost at the time they voted, they would not have approved it," said Krueger.
But in June, the San Diego City Council voted for the trash fee to be $43 a month, and that they would be added to San Diego County's property tax bills.
For Krueger, he's hoping the injunction goes through so the trash fees are postponed.
"I think common sense tells you that faced with a cost of double that, that at least one percent of the voters would have said no," said Krueger.
ABC 10News reached out the city's lawyer who said they have no comment on pending litigation.
