The Walnut Creek City Council has repealed part of a city ordinance restricting use of single-stall restrooms in city parks and open spaces to one gender.
The city’s municipal code previously prohibited people from using or entering a toilet facility specifically designated for use by members of the opposite sex in city parks and open spaces.
“This only impacts single-stall bathrooms, which are already non-gender use,” said Councilmember Kevin Wilk. “This does not change multi-use restrooms.”
The move was made to align the city with state law.
The Unruh Civil Rights Act specifically includes a person’s “gender identity” and “gender-expression” in its definition of “sex” for purposes of anti-discrimination protections.
A staff report for the council’s Feb. 21 meeting said “The Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibits arbitrary discrimination in California business establishments on the basis of specified classifications. The act mandates that all persons, no matter their race, sex, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language or immigration status, are ‘entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever.’”
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 said 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.
The law requires all single-user toilet facilities in any business establishment, place of public accommodation or state or local government agency to be identified as all-gender toilets and designated only for single-use or for family or assisted use.
The Walnut Creek Municipal Code previously prohibited any person, other than a child accompanied by a parent or guardian, from using or entering any toilet facility specifically designated for use by members of the opposite sex.