Latest crackdown on beach yoga classes prompts more questions than answers
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The “vendor ordinance confusion” continues in San Diego, with the latest crackdown on yoga classes on the beach prompting more questions than answers, especially for parents getting ready to send their kids to summer camp.
Video of San Diego Park Rangers citing a popular yoga teacher known as Namaste Steve is getting national attention after his beachfront class in Pacific Beach at Palisdes Park has been going on for years and typically attracts hundreds of yoga practitioners.
Despite the ticket, Namaste Steve was back teaching Tuesday and says he is ready to fight.
“We don’t change and we’re not going to stop. We’re engaged in free expression. This is our right. We pay for these parks,” said Namaste Steve.
Park rangers seen enforcing San Diego’s ban on beachside classes
His taxes may pay for the use of the park, but his class, despite being “donation only,” is still a commercial enterprise on public space, according to the City of San Diego’s new vendor rules.
“On the weekends you’ll see hundreds or thousands of people here,” says Mary Williams. “But it’s only for an hour, so I think the community does like to see that happen.”
The newly graduated yoga teacher says she donates anywhere from $10 to $15 a class and was hoping to have her own donation-only class.
Do the math and you soon realize this is a very successful business.
San Diego yoga teachers face ban on beachside classes
“The locals are I think a bit frustrated that one of their most cherished pieces of land, Palisades Park, is starting to get commercialized a bit with the parking and the crowds and the scene on the weekend,” said Andrew Vetter, surf instructor.
Vetter is a surf instructor. He says surf camps pay big bucks to the city for monthly permits.
But all the controversy surrounding free beach yoga is forcing the city to address the grey area in the law, and now new concerns from parents and caregivers about their kid’s summer camp plans.
FOX 5/KUSI reached out to the city and was told they are working to clarify what types of camps would require a permit.
“At surf camp we’ll be shredding all summer,” Vetter commented.
Yoga instructors seek legal action over city ban on their beachside classes
As for Namaste Steve, Vetter thinks the situation will work itself out.
“He’s doing something great for the community, so it’s hard to come at him at all. But when you’re running a ring like this, making as much money as he does, you can’t expect not to get people ticked off a little bit,” said Vetter.
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