Is the City of San Diego Trash Fee Unconstitutional?
A Decision is Forthcoming
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What: A meeting to update the public on the status
of the Trash Fee Lawsuit and Pending Court Date
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When: Saturday, March 21, 2026 – 1pm – 2pm

Where: Mission Hills – Hillcrest Library,
located at 215 W. Washington Street

Who: Speakers will be the lead attorneys,
Mike Aguirre and Maria Severson


Please attend an important meeting with attorneys Mike Aguirre and Maria Severson, lead attorneys representing the plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit in strong opposition to the Environmental Services Department trash fee, stating that it is unconstitutional.

Aguirre and Severson will share information to remind us of what has happened to date and since to force the lawsuit.

Last 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 $53 a month in the first year, a figure they later reduced to $48.

In June 2025, the City Council voted 6 to 3 to impose a $53 monthly charge — a fee they planned to add to San Diego County property tax rolls to make sure the city will collect all 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 costs to deliver and therefore violates the California Constitution.

In a Union Tribune report dated September 14, 2025, it described the city’s “chaotic” implementation of the program and stated that fewer than half of the 20,000 households losing city pickup had secured private haulers, with many facing rejections, steep rates or a maze of complications. There has been no follow-up on this to show that the situation has improved.

Fifteen plaintiffs are a part of a lawsuit to oppose the trash fee as proposed because the current fee charged represents an amount that is twice as much as the strictly required ‘fee for service’.