The city's municipal code currently prohibits people from using or entering a toilet facility specifically designated for use by members of the opposite sex, in city parks and open spaces.
According to a report for Tuesday's meeting, staff is recommending the council allow staff to "coordinate how the city identifies and assigns restrooms for access at an administrative level to maintain consistency with current state law."
The report says "The Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibits arbitrary discrimination in California business establishments on the basis of specified classifications, including race, sex, color, religion, and sexual orientation. It states customers are 'entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever.'"
The report adds the law specifically includes a person's "gender identity" and "gender-expression" in its definition of "sex" for purposes of the act's anti-discrimination protections.
The report also says Assembly Bill 1732, passed in 2016, added the requirement that single-occupancy restrooms in California businesses, government buildings, and places of public accommodation be universally accessible.
