Revised plans for a less-fancy beach restroom head to City Council.

The concept for a new public restroom at Carmel Beach didn’t go over too well with the residents near Scenic Road and Santa Lucia Avenue. The preliminary plans show a stone building set into the bluff beside the stairway to the beach; construction would cost about $350,000.


On July 11, after hearing from upset neighbors, the Carmel Planning Commission reconsidered its earlier approval of the plans. Some residents said the bathroom would ruin their views, encourage loiterers and become a magnet for undesirables. 


Others suggested lowering the roof, nixing the baby-changing and dog-washing stations, and moving to a site less vulnerable to erosion.


“We want the bathrooms to be kept very simple,” says Barbara Livingston. “Two bathrooms, both unisex and one ADA-compatible. No shower, somewhere outdoors to wash hands, and that’s it.” 


Carmel’s General Plan calls for replacing current portable toilets with a permanent restroom, but that goal has stalled for a decade. 


“It just got put on the back burner,” says Planning & Building Services Manager Sean Conroy.


On Aug. 7, the City Council will consider 16 recommended revisions, including: moving the restroom toward the street, eliminating the shower, making the restrooms unisex, lowering the roof, cutting trees and reducing the building’s size. 


“We’ve incorporated a lot of the [public] comment,” City Administrator Jason Stilwell says.


The scaled-down restroom would cost about $250,000, Conroy says. The city’s looking to grants and private donations for funding.