Budget Cuts Prompt County to Curtail Beach Restroom Hours

The county's Department of Beaches and Harbors, which oversees two dozen beaches from Malibu to San Pedro, has announced plans to cut back on restroom hours and other services due to budget constraints.

The beach service curtailments will begin May 1 to help the department stay within its budget. The date corresponds with the heavily trafficked beach season, when thousands of people visit Venice Beach daily.

Venice Neighborhood Council president Linda Lucks told Patch that she plans to put an item on the council's next agenda in order to petition County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky for a local excemption from the cutbacks.

A new cleaning schedule will have beach restroom cleaning starting at 7 a.m. and the later start time may mean that some restrooms may not open year-round until as late as 11 a.m., the department said in a statement. The later start time will allow crews to work later into the afternoon when bathroom use is at its peak.

In the winter, maintenance crews will only perform one "heavy" cleaning of the restrooms each day. Some Los Angeles County beach restrooms will be closed on weekdays and possibly some weekends, which also has been the case in past winters.

Volleyball net replacement, parking lot cleanup, weed abatement, landscaping and large debris cleanup will occur only when daily staffing levels allow.

"The curtailments are due to the state’s historic budget crisis and the overall local economy severely hampering the department’s ability to sustain beach maintenance services provided in the past," the department said in a statement.

The department said it would post information on beach restroom closures on its Facebook and Twitter accounts.