San Diego’s beach fire rings will remain intact for now, thanks to newly-approved county grant funding.
The fire rings were on the chopping block in Mayor Todd Gloria’s budget proposal for the fiscal year — a move met with outcry from residents, elected officials and the California Coastal Commission, which said last week that the removal of the fire rings would limit public access to San Diego’s coast.
But on Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to accept county grant funding for the fire rings for the next fiscal year. The funding is part of a $2.15 billion general fund budget that the council approved this week that reverses many of the mayor’s proposed cutbacks.
County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer offered the grant funding as a way to keep the fire rings operational.
“I’m just glad we saved summer,” she said Thursday.
The fire ring closures were part of the mayor’s proposed reductions to San Diego parks — one of many city sectors that faced sweeping cuts next year in the mayor’s effort to address a deficit of at least $258 million.
Lawson-Remer said her office got more than 300 emailed responses from residents about why they love the fire rings and want them to remain.
“A lot of people talked about how expensive stuff’s gotten in San Diego, and how wonderful it is to have somewhere free to go and enjoy the beautiful outdoors, and come together with family and neighbors and kids,” she said.
The $135,000 county grant will fund the maintenance of the fire rings for one year. The funding comes from the county’s long-running Community Enhancement Program, which provides grants to nonprofits and public agencies for projects to stimulate the economy.
The program has drawn scrutiny for years, seen by critics as ways for supervisors to solicit political by steering millions in public money to recipients of their choosing with no public debate.
Along with restoring funding for the fire rings, the City Council’s approved budget provides funding for many public restrooms, brush management for wildfire prevention and a backlog of needed flood channel clearing.
The mayor and city’s independent budget analyst expressed concern about the new budget’s spending.
Gloria can still push back against the council’s approved budget — he has line-item veto power to eliminate new spending and make other revisions. But the council can override the mayor’s vetoes with votes from six , and the council voted 7-2 for the new budget on Tuesday.
The mayor’s office said Thursday that the mayor is working with the finance team on next steps and expects to be ready to announce his plan for potential revisions to the budget in the next few days.
Diana Lilly, the California Coastal Commission’s San Diego coast district manager, said in a statement that the agency “greatly appreciates” the efforts from the city and county to preserve the fire rings.
In a letter sent to the mayor last week, Lilly expressed concern that the removal of the fire rings — which she wrote are some of the region’s most popular amenities — would limit lower-cost public access to the coast, which is protected under the California Coastal Act.
Council President Joe LaCava also applauded the efforts and thanked Lawson-Remer in a press conference on Tuesday “for recognizing the budget shortfall challenges” and her willingness to fund the fire rings with county money.
But the temporary funding is only a stopgap until the city can create a plan to maintain the fire rings on its own.
“This will give the City Council and the mayor a year to make a sustainable plan,” Lawson-Remer said. “Of course, the fire pits are the city’s fire pits and the city’s financial responsibility — but we just wanted to be able to kind of provide some bridge funding while they made a plan.”
