Outdoor yoga classes at risk under updated San Diego ordinance

Catch up quick: In February, the city revised its sidewalk vending ordinance, making it easier to punish rogue vendors, cracking down on people who used free-speech claims to avoid prohibitions and clarifying that exercise classes are not protected from enforcement.

• Enforcement is now hitting yoga classes that are typically free or donation based.

Between the lines: City code prohibits groups of four or more people engaged in commercial recreational activities — including yoga, fitness classes and dog training — without a permit.

• Those permits are also only available for certain areas, including Mission Bay and Balboa Park. It excludes Sunset Cliffs, where groups have been practicing yoga for years.
• Picnics and other gatherings of 50 or more also require a permit in parks, beaches and bays, which caused trouble for a women's walking group earlier this year.

What's next: Some of the affected yoga instructors are raising money for a civil rights lawyer and petitioning the city to change the ordinance.