Appellate panel rules for yoga instructors in battle over classes in beaches, parks

Sidewalk vendors the focus of a city ordinance that had led to a legal battle with two yoga instructors Photo courtesy of city of San Diego The city of San Diego s ban on yoga classes in general parks and beaches was ruled unconstitutional Wednesday by a federal appeals court The th U S Circuit Court of Appeals ruling ascertained that such classes are protected by the First Amendment It states that city agents have not shown any plausible connection between plaintiffs teaching yoga and any threat to constituents safety and enjoyment in the city s shoreline parks The crackdown on the classes stemmed from an amended ordinance concerning street vendors that also prohibited other types of commercial activity without a permit such as yoga classes attended by four or more people Yoga instructors Steven Hubbard and Amy Baack challenged the ban in a federal lawsuit contending that the city s enforcement on such gatherings violated their First Amendment rights While a federal judge ruled in the city s favor the th Circuit panel wrote Teaching yoga is protected speech and that because the ordinance targets teaching yoga it plainly implicates Hubbard and Baack s First Amendment right to speak While the city had argued the prohibition was in line with its interests in protecting the enjoyment and safety of the masses in the use of parks the panel wrote that the city has provided no explanation as to how teaching yoga would lead to harmful consequences to these interests or even what those consequences might be A San Diego City Attorney s representative stated the city is evaluating the decision and foreseen next policies Hubbard and Baack also filed a separate lawsuit against the city earlier this year in state court which claimed Hubbard was cited multiple times for livestreaming yoga classes from his home Those citations were allegedly issued because the YouTube-streamed lessons could be viewed by people at a city park according to the complaint