Moving forward on public restrooms

The Idyllwild Historic Preservation District (IHPD) Local Review Board (LRB) held a special meeting Thursday, March 23, at the Idyllwild Library. The main item on the agenda was consideration of the county’s proposal for a new public restroom, to be placed along North Circle Drive at Mile High Plaza.

Present were board President Terry Shirley and members Stephanie Yost and Warren Monroe. David Cutter was absent, and applications for the open fifth seat are still under consideration by the county. Historic Preservation Officer Bridget Lawlor with Riverside County Regional Parks and Open Space District and liaison to the board, was unable to attend due to the road conditions after Wednesday’s storm.

Lawlor had provided the LRB with a plan for the new restroom. Monroe pointed out that the plan listed IdyPark as the location, and Yost reassured him that Mile High Plaza was the actual site under discussion. Yost also explained that she would recuse herself from the vote since she had been working with the county and landlords Shane and Ashley Stewart to move the project forward since 2020. The Stewarts have granted an easement for the site.

The planned structure has two restrooms with single toilets and sinks, and concrete floors with skid resistant coatings. A pair of drinking fountains is on the outside with a bottle filler, in an alcove of masonry blocks. Construction is wood frame with a decorative stone facing up to the height of the door knobs, with cedar board and batten above. A storage closet is between the two restrooms for maintenance supplies.

Monroe had a great deal to say about the problems that arise with public restrooms. He works at the Chevron station, a location he describes as the “point of first attack.” LRB’s role in the approval process is to provide local input to the county as the acceptability of architecture within the district, and provide suggestions and recommendations. Monroe opined that the plan “seems to fit nicely into the state park or county park architecturally speaking … But considering that it’s going to be on North Circle it doesn’t seem to fit the town.” Yost replied that it had taken over two years to get this far; a location from the Stewarts and funding from the county for a prefabricated building. “I know they added some architectural elements to make it look a little more ‘Idyllwildy.’” The board of supervisors approved the project. Power, water and sewer are available.

Shirley commented that the plan seemed to fit within the district’s guidelines. Monroe asked “… how lighting, security parking and maintenance will fit in?” Yost explained that the county will have a contract for maintenance with a local entity. The Idyllwild Community Center (ICC) has been discussed because “we already maintain the playground, Town Hall … the dog park, pickleball court, the skate park.” They have a maintenance man who goes to all six current facilities, but could hire more help, with the county “entering into a contract for funding …” This Monroe called “hand waving,” although IHPD and LRB are not taking any responsibility for the administration of the restrooms, only weighing in on the suitability of the plan to the unique historic character of Idyllwild’s commercial area. The contract only will be written up when there is a final agreement to go forward with the building. On the question of parking Shirley said there is parking at the shopping center and nearby, but that the facility is “going to be more of a pedestrian restroom.”

Monroe asked, “How do you know if there’s a problem, a toilet overflows, someone has thrown a body in there?” Yost explained that the doors will automatically unlock during daylight hours and lock at night, with “crash bars” so no one can be trapped. There will be lighting and security cameras on the exterior, connected to a secure, web-based app. “Just as we do out by the Amphitheater and the playground.” Monroe brought up the public restrooms in the Fort and Yost underlined that those will soon be closed for repair and re-opened for customers only. (Public restroom access was one condition the county placed when the permit was granted for the Fort, but the building has changed hands since then.)

Monroe seemed to have a vast fund of stories accrued from a lifetime of observing behavior in public restrooms. He asked if the other members were aware of the problems the Fort has experienced with theirs. “The homeless use it for bathing and showering. How do you shower with just a sink? It can be done.” We went on to discuss the Chevron station’s problems with toilet paper theft and homeless people, one of whom locked herself inside. A customer who had experience as a therapist agreed to take a key and go in to see if she needed assistance, and the occupant locked herself inside one of the stalls. The “furniture” had been rearranged and paper towels strewn on the floor. A threat to call the sheriff did cause her to vacate the restroom, and “The sheriff later found her wandering naked at the triangle near the intersection. That is one of, I could recount 20 or 30 things like that.”

Shirley explained that these doors cannot be locked except by the staff, and that there will be a hand dryer instead of paper towels. He also underlined that the purpose of the project is to take some of the pressure off downtown businesses that are constantly being asked by tourists for bathroom access. Yost pointed out that ICC already maintains two portable toilets at the playground site, their use rotated so there is a “fresh” unit for weekends. The service that empties them only will come once a week.

Shirley added that the lack of public restrooms is one of the reasons why the Chevron station gets “hammered.” The new site also will be more public than the playground site and so less prone to abuse. Yost spoke of earlier attempts to solve the problem that foundered for lack of county funding.

Bringing the conversation back to the purview of the board, Shirley said he would like to see some landscaping to “make it less imposing.” That spot had a “gigantic” oak that succumbed to disease recently. Landscaping “would, over time, blend it into the village.”

Monroe worried that lighting might shine in drivers’ eyes. Shirley responded that exterior lighting is included in the plan. The plan shows covered lights pointing down at the doors and stipulates they are to be 10-watt LEDs.

The board can recommend a color for the wood surfaces, and so colors were discussed. Shirley mentioned the “forest colors’ required by his Saunders Meadow Home Owners Association. The document provided by the county showed a greenish gray.

After 45 minutes of discussion, Shirley moved that a vote be taken; that the plan be accepted with a recommendation that forest colors be used for paint and that some landscaping be provided. Monroe, “against (his) better judgment,” seconded the motion and voted in favor along with Shirley. The motion passed.

Other items discussed included the effort to improve local signage within the district. The funding for this may be brought up at Supervisor V. Manuel Perez’s next Town Hall meeting (date to be decided.) Another item was the progress toward an IHPD website. The web designer, Claire Samuels, has been set up as a vendor with the county. Yost explained that Samuels designed the ICC website and made it “mobile-friendly,” easing access for visitors using phones. Shirley added that Samuels also will make the site interact with the Parks and Rec website.

The next meeting is noon Thursday, April 27, at the Idyllwild Library. It is expected that the county will have provided a response and update on the restroom project.