COSTA MESA — City Council members had several concerns about a proposal to provide mobile restrooms to the city’s homeless, deciding the plan needs more discussion.

The proposed six-month pilot program with the Costa Mesa Sanitary District would station restrooms on trailers in areas frequented by homeless people to give them an alternative to relieving themselves in public.

Council members were concerned over the proposed locations, hours of operation and whether the mobile restrooms would be an invitation to homeless people living outside the city.

On a 3-2 vote Tuesday, Feb. 20, the council held off spending $21,500 to fund the city’s half of the pilot program and instead directed staff members to work with the Sanitary District, the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce and businesses on 19th Street near Meyer Place – one of the proposed locations – to refine the plan.

“It’s just a simple, flexible, modest way to address an issue that has presented itself and to get more information to see if we should do something more permanent,” said Councilman John Stephens, who brought the restroom idea to the council.

Council members Jim Righeimer and Allan Mansoor said they preferred the city not participate at all.

The proposal calls for mobile restrooms to be placed near 19th Street and Meyer Place, Anaheim Avenue and West 18th Street and 17th Street and Pomona Avenue on alternating days from 6 a.m. to noon.

Sanitary District General Manager Scott Carroll said the hours and locations could be changed.

Trellis, a group of local Christian churches that advocates for the homeless, would provide paid attendants to oversee the facilities.

The Sanitary District board unanimously approved funding its half of the joint venture in December.

A handful of residents decried the idea of providing restrooms, citing safety issues and the lack of a public notice about the matter.

“This is a completely incomplete plan,” said Brett Eckles, who is running for a council seat in November’s elections.

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“This concept of doing nothing means people are going to go away, that’s not realistic,” she said. “This is at least a creative way to address what is an immediate concern.”

Righeimer expects the alternate to happen, that providing the restrooms would encourage an influx of homeless into the city. “Anybody who thinks that if you’re going to give more services to people, you’re going to get less of them, you’re not thinking right.”

Costa Mesa has grappled with its homeless population and illicit activity in public restrooms in recent years. In 2015, the city closed restrooms at Lions Park and Wilson Park over health and public safety concerns.