Homeowners challenging San Diego trash fee drop request for quick trial, seek injunction instead

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 10 on a request from a group of San Diego homeowners for an injunction that would postpone the city’s implementation of the monthly trash fee for single-family homes.

Judge James A. Mangione approved the schedule Tuesday at a hearing held over from last week, when the plaintiffs initially asked for an expedited September trial. Instead, both parties agreed that the plaintiffs would pursue an injunction.

“We have worked out an arrangement with your honor’s permission,” said attorney Michael Aguirre, who co-represents the plaintiffs. “We came to a mutual agreement that we would file a week from this Friday for a preliminary injunction.”

The city argued last week that it could not properly prepare for a trial starting as soon as next month.

“What we are asking for is a reasonable opportunity to prepare our defense,” attorney Gabriel McWhirter told the court last week. “A Sept. 22 trial date, with all due respect, is not going to allow us to do that.”

If granted, an injunction would delay imposition of monthly trash fees for single-family homeowners in San Diego.

San Diego voters narrowly approved a ballot measure in 2022 to repeal a century-old law that guaranteed free trash pickup for single-family homes. Voters had been told the monthly fee was expected to be between $23 and $29.

This year, after signing off on a $4.5 million study of what would be an appropriate fee, San Diego officials unveiled a plan to charge homeowners almost $48 a month in the first year, a figure they later reduced to $43.

In June, the City Council voted 6-3 to impose a $43 monthly charge — a fee they would later vote 7-2 to add to San Diego County property tax bills to make sure the city will collect all of the funds.

Even before the council adopted the fee, a group of property owners contested it in San Diego Superior Court, arguing it charges more than the service actually costs to deliver and therefore violates the California constitution.

At a hearing last week, Judge Mangione suggested a preliminary injunction might be a more appropriate remedy than an expedited trial. He directed the lawyers to meet and confer before returning to court Tuesday.

Lawyers for both sides on Tuesday presented a proposed schedule for the preliminary hearing dispute, and the judge agreed to it.

The homeowners will file their motion supporting the request by Aug. 22, and the city has until Sept. 19 to respond. The lawyers representing San Diego homeowners will get 10 more days to respond to the city’s opposition filing.

On Oct. 10, the judge will convene a hearing to review the various arguments before making a decision on whether to temporarily block the trash fee.