PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A Palm Beach County gym is now on the radar of the Florida Attorney General over its locker room policy.
In an exclusive interview, WPTV's Joel Lopez is hearing from the woman who filed a complaint with the state, saying Life Time in Palm Beach Gardens is allowing men into the women’s locker room.
WATCH: 'I don't feel safe,' Sonja Horton tells WPTV in exclusive interview
"I was sitting in the sauna one day across from the man in a bikini and it was the women's locker room," said Sonja Horton, who questioned the encounter with the front desk. "I asked the front desk what the policy was, I wanted to know and she said well, 'Whatever you identify as, you can go wherever you want.'"
Horton returned and noticed a sign outside the women's locker room asking women with male children to use the family locker room but says the gym allowed adults to enter based on their gender identity.
"I don't think that gender is political, I think it's biology and when I joined the gym they told me we have ladies locker rooms, but apparently we don't anymore," said Horton. "Whatever you identify as is great, it's fine and dandy do, what you want, I just want my own locker room, I don't feel safe like that and I don't think it's fair."
Horton suggests creating a separate locker room altogether for people who don't mind sharing a locker room.
She reached out to AG James Uthmeier, who took to Facebook on Monday about the complaint.
"If Lifetime Fitness does not immediately reverse this dangerous policy, my office will take swift legal action," said Uthmeier in the post.
A document obtained by Lopez shows the response from Uthmeier to Life Time's Chief Executive Officer Bahram Akradi.
It argues that Life Time's Policy to allow men in women's facilities is harmful and endangers women.
The document references a letter saying Life Time argued that "Palm Beach County Ordinance 15-57 makes gender identity a protected class and therefore condones or requires its harmful locker room policy."
It went on to clarify that Chapter 15 of the Palm Beach County Code of Ordinances in its entirety would lead Life Time to Palm Beach County Code 15-63, which states: "The prohibitions set forth in section 15-57 shall not be applied to Limit of the use of a restroom to persons of one (1) sex .... [or] Any institution or place of accommodation that is in its nature distinctly private."
Lopez reached out to Palm Beach County's Planning Zoning and Building Department asking about the county policy in question.
They sent the following: Chapter 21, Article 11§ 21-39. Restroom and bath facilities. Latest version.
"No person over the age of seven (7) years shall enter or use restroom or bath facilities designated for the use of the opposite sex. No person shall loiter in or around any restroom, dressing room or bathhouse. (Ord. No. 89-34, § 24, 12-19-89)"
They mentioned this only applies to locations in unincorporated Palm Beach County, not municipalities such as Palm Beach Gardens, which is where the Life Time gym is located.
Lopez then reached out to the city of Palm Beach Gardens that said it does not have an ordinance related to transgender people and bathroom use.
The AG pointed out that state law supersedes local ordinances, and corporate policy.
We spoke with members going in and out of Life Time on Tuesday who had mixed feelings about the complaint.
"Let people live. I mean everyone's different, we're not all in the same box. It'd be pretty boring if we were," said Kerrie Russell.
She said she's been a member of Life Time in Palm Beach Gardens since it opened.
"Have you ever faced a transgender person here that has made you feel uncomfortable or anything like that?" asked Lopez.
"Not at all," said Russell. "There's separate bathrooms, there's separate showers, there's actually changing rooms if you want to go in a changing room and not bee seen or have anyone see you."
WPTV reached out to Life Time who responded with the following statement:
“We are aware of the Attorney General’s recent remarks and, despite assertions being made, we are not relying on the Palm Beach County ordinance to avoid compliance but rather are adhering to our current understanding of the interplay between state and local law—as we do in every community where we operate. We are carefully reviewing the legal interpretation of the Attorney General, as the chief law enforcer in the State of Florida, so that we can remain in legal compliance while maintaining an environment in our Palm Beach Gardens club that allows all of our members to use our services safely and respectfully.”
