Why this matters
Proposition 218 is meant to ensure citizens are approving most taxes and charges on property owners. The city of San Diego’s proposed trash fee would be among the highest in Southern California.
Editor’s note, March 13: This story has been updated to include changes to a meeting date and additional information about the protest deadline. Councilmembers have rescheduled when they will discuss the trash fee to April 14, a city spokesperson told inewsource after publication.
The city of San Diego may soon charge one of the highest trash fees in Southern California.
But there is one way homeowners could stop it.
Proposition 218, a state law passed in 1996 to require approval from those facing a rate increase by government agencies, includes a property owner’s right to cast a written protest against a new fee or increase.
It’s called a majority protest: If more than half of eligible property owners submit a written, “valid” protest, then the City Council would not be able to implement a trash fee.
Councilmembers will discuss new reports on the fee schedule on April 14, city officials said.
inewsource spoke with City Clerk Diana Fuentes and Jeremy Bauer, assistant director of the city’s Environmental Services Department, to help answer questions about the process.
What’s considered a “valid” protest?
Under Proposition 218, a valid protest form is a paper mailer that would be sent to property owners in the city. Only eligible owners — those who currently get their trash picked up for free — will receive this mailer.
Renters are not eligible to participate in the process.
The document should have the owner’s name, parcel number and written language detailing the proposed fee. The owner would need to indicate a protest against the fee. The document must then be signed and mailed to or dropped off at the address listed on the mailer. The deadline to respond would be listed on the mailer. Valid protests submitted by mail must arrive by the deadline.
Owners may also submit their protests last-minute during the council’s meeting to formally consider implementing a fee, but they must do so before the conclusion of public comment. That’s when the public hearing officially ends, and when councilmembers can begin their own discussions ahead of voting.
Is a valid protest a vote?
While it’s still a form of democracy, technically, submitting a valid protest is not a vote.
As Fuentes puts it: “It’s not voting yes or no, it’s just submitting a protest to the rate increase. So it’s all a no.”
When would San Diegans receive a valid protest form?
The council will consider at its April 14 meeting whether to move forward with the procedure to implement the fee. If they do, the next step would be to send a written notice to affected owners.
Households would receive this mailer at least 45 days before another council meeting, which staff aim to schedule on or around June 10.
How much could trash pickup cost?
City staff have proposed a monthly full-service rate of about $53 for trash pickup. That would increase to roughly $65 in 2027 when more trash and recycling services are added. Customers willing to use smaller trash bins — 35 gallons, instead of the normal 95 gallons — would pay less: about $42 per month, with their rate rising to $52 in 2027.
These new estimates are twice the amount the city’s Independent Budget Analyst office predicted in 2022, before San Diegans voted to amend what’s known as “The People’s Ordinance” and allow the city to start charging residents for trash pickup.
Charles Modica, head of the IBA, acknowledged during an Environment Committee meeting last month that his office’s estimates were off – largely due to not accounting for inflation and using an inaccurate count of the city’s customers.
Modica said that the IBA will release a new report of the fee estimates at the council’s next trash discussion.
When could San Diegans start seeing trash bills?
It could be as early as July. But here’s what needs to happen first.
Councilmembers at their April 14 meeting will discuss new findings, including data sourced from the city’s public outreach.
At that meeting, they could tweak rules around the process of submitting a valid protest, such as deciding which office property owners need to mail or drop off the protest. (In the past, San Diegans were directed to submit their protests to the City Clerk’s Office in a specific mailbox, for example.)
Eligible households will receive a valid protest form in the mail at least 45 days before the June hearing. At that meeting, city staff will review the mailers they received and the city will determine whether more than half of owners protested the fee.
If the city does not receive a majority protest, the council will have the ability to implement a fee.
Who’s affected by the potential fee?
As the city completes a final review of the numbers, Bauer said they’ve so far calculated about 233,000 properties that would be affected by a fee.
The city is developing a list of affected properties, which would be posted publicly as part of an attachment to the agenda for the April 14 council meeting.
San Diegans who would be affected by the trash fee are largely single-family homeowners who have been receiving trash collection services for free. Owners of duplexes and townhomes may also be affected if they also get free trash pickup.
Those living in apartment complexes or gated communities are typically not impacted, as most use a private company for trash collection. Multifamily homes with more than four homes on a single parcel would also be ineligible for the city’s service.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
