South San Diego Bay Cities consider homeless encampment bans
Homeless Encampment Bans Multiply in San Diego County
Based on the information provided in multiple articles, here's a summary of the state of homeless encampment bans in San Diego County cities:
1. Recent trend: There's a rapid increase in cities adopting or considering homeless encampment bans across San Diego County.
2. Cities with bans or considering bans:
- - San Diego: Has implemented a ban
- - Escondido: Has implemented a ban
- - San Marcos: Has implemented a ban
- - Poway: Has implemented a ban
- - Vista: Has implemented a ban
- - Chula Vista: Considering a ban
- - National City: Considering a ban (advanced for final consideration)
- - Carlsbad: Considering updating homelessness policy to increase enforcement
3. County-level action: The San Diego County Board of Supervisors plans to discuss updating its policies next month.
4. Scope: If all proposed bans are adopted, the majority of San Diego County residents will live in areas where public camping is against the law.
5. Reasons for the shift:
- - June 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to enforce anti-camping laws even without available shelter
- - Governor Gavin Newsom's executive order for removal of homeless encampments
- - Increasing public pressure and concerns about safety and sanitation
- - Frustration with the limited success of outreach and service-based approaches
6. Concerns:
- - Advocates worry these bans will criminalize homelessness without solving the underlying issues
- - There's a significant shortage of affordable housing and shelter beds in the county
- - Some fear the bans will make it harder for outreach workers to build trust and provide services
7. Context:
- - The number of homeless individuals in the region increased by about 20% between 2022 and 2023
- - Cities report low rates of homeless individuals accepting offered services
This trend represents a significant shift in homelessness policy across San Diego County, moving away from primarily service-based approaches towards more enforcement-oriented strategies.
Enforcement and Consequences of the Bans
Based on the information provided in the documents, there is concern about the potential for citations and incarceration of homeless individuals who violate the encampment bans. However, the documents don't provide a definitive answer on how enforcement will be carried out across all cities. Here's what we can infer:
1. Potential for citations and arrests:
- The Supreme Court ruling allows for punishments for violating anti-camping laws, including citations or arrests.
- The Grants Pass case, which influenced these bans, involved fines of $295 for sleeping outside.
2. Concerns about enforcement:
- San Marcos Councilmember Maria Nunez expressed concern about the potential consequences, stating: "Are they going to be detained? Are they gonna be incarcerated? Where do they go?"
- There's worry that citations could lead to misdemeanors, which could potentially result in incarceration.
3. Lack of alternatives:
- Many cities implementing these bans don't have sufficient shelter space or affordable housing options for all their homeless residents.
- This lack of alternatives raises questions about where people will go when encampments are cleared.
4. Potential overcrowding of jails:
- While the documents don't explicitly state that jails will become overcrowded, it's a logical concern given:
a) The large number of homeless individuals in the county
b) The limited alternatives available
c) The potential for repeated violations as people struggle to find places to sleep
5. Advocacy perspective:
- Homeless advocates like John Brady predict negative outcomes, stating "Our deaths on the street will skyrocket this year," suggesting that enforcement could lead to dire consequences beyond just citations or incarceration.
6. Uncertainty in implementation:
- The documents suggest that many cities are still in the process of adopting or considering these bans, so the exact enforcement mechanisms may not be fully determined yet.
In conclusion, while the potential for citations and incarceration exists, and there are concerns about how this will impact both the homeless population and the jail system, the documents don't provide a clear, county-wide policy on enforcement. It seems likely that the implementation and consequences of these bans will become clearer as more cities adopt and begin enforcing them.
Chula Vista, National City to consider homeless encampment bans – NBC 7 San Diego
Two South Bay cities will consider Tuesday adopting bans on homeless encampments on public property, the latest in a move to criminalize homelessness following a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year.
The City Councils of Chula Vista and National City will consider the bans and could follow the county and cities of San Diego, San Marcos, Escondido and others.
"In the last four years, the unsheltered crisis has grown with a number of unsheltered doubling from prior years," a city staff report from the city of Chula Vista reads. "Unsheltered persons frequently occupy public spaces and other places not meant for human habitation."
The ordinance to be considered at the 5 p.m. meeting in Chula Vista would "prohibit campsites and sitting, sleeping, lying, or storing personal property on public property" at specific locations in the city.
National City's ordinance is similar, even acknowledging the cascading impact of San Diego's ban.
"The city's homeless outreach team has seen an influx of unsheltered individuals in National City from the City of San Diego since San Diego's encampment ordinance has gone into effect," a staff report from the city read. "As the number of unsheltered individuals increases, so does the health and safety risks from unregulated human activity when tents or encampments are set up in public areas."
The number of homeless in the region increased by around 20% between 2022 and 2023, according to the Regional Task Force on Homelessness' annual Point-in-Time Count. National City saw an increase in homelessness of 9.4% between 2023 and 2024 -- from 159 to 174 people -- while Chula Vista saw a whopping increase of 58.2%, from 318 to 503.
However, the number of shelter beds in the county is woefully under what is needed. In the city of San Diego alone, future developments at Golden Hall, Father Joe's Paul Mirabile Center and the Rachel's Promise Shelter, along with the scheduled closure of several temporary shelters, means that the city's current shelter bed count of 2,508 could drop precipitously in coming months. There are 3,489 unsheltered homeless in that city, as of January's count.
The rise of these bans follows a June decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in the so-called Grants Pass case that authorized governments to enforce anti-camping laws even if no alternate housing is available. The decision allows punishments for violating anti-camping laws, including citations or arrests.
The Supreme Court's 6-3 decision on June 28 reversed a ruling by a San Francisco appeals court that found outdoor sleeping bans amount to cruel and unusual punishment when there is no available shelter space for the homeless. The ruling of the Supreme Court's majority found the 8th Amendment does not apply to outdoor sleeping bans.
The case originated in the rural Oregon town of Grants Pass, which appealed a ruling striking down local ordinances that fined people $295 for sleeping outside after tents began crowding public parks. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over nine Western states, ruled in 2018 that such bans violate the 8th Amendment of those who are in areas where there are not enough shelter beds.
The three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented.
In July, Gov. Gavin Newsom followed the Grants Pass case with an executive order for the removal of homeless encampments in the state while adding that local authorities will decide on the removals.
The guidance follows a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this summer allowing cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public spaces.
"The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets," Newsom said in a statement. "There are simply no more excuses."
Newsom's order directs state agencies to move urgently to address encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them. It also provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same.
"We must act with urgency to address dangerous encampments," Newsom said.
Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO at Father Joe's Villages, commented on Newsom's executive order.
"People -- no matter their circumstances -- have the right to safe and adequate shelter. But thousands of individuals and families across California have few options when they come to lay their head down for the night," he said. "As one of the largest homeless services providers in Southern California, we know that jail is not a solution to this growing crisis. It is critical that any efforts to remove encampments are coupled with efforts to increase the availability and diversity of shelters in our cities and regions, including shelter options that focus specifically on unique needs, such as addressing substance use.
"Along with shelter, we must also prioritize increasing the supply of affordable housing and the ability to access comprehensive services that help people achieve and maintain self-sufficiency," Vargas wrote in a statement. "Homelessness is a crisis we can solve in our communities, but the solutions must be grounded in our shared humanity. We must meet this moment with both compassion and action for our neighbors in need."
‘The Pendulum Has Swung.’ Countywide Momentum Gathers for Homeless Encampment Bans
Less than six months after the U.S. Supreme Court gave California cities the green light to ban homeless encampments, homelessness policy across much of San Diego County is rapidly changing direction.
Yearslong efforts to reach out to homeless residents and connect them with services suddenly are taking a back seat to encampment bans and stepped-up enforcement.
Four of the county’s five largest cities now either outlaw public camping or are actively considering a ban. Advocates for the homeless say they have mostly stopped contesting the bans and are recalibrating in the face of hardening public opinion. City officials say residents are forcing their hand by demanding tougher laws.
Last week, National City became the sixth city in the county to move toward an encampment ban. This week, Chula Vista will take up its own ban. Carlsbad is considering updating its homelessness policy to beef up enforcement. Next month, the county Board of Supervisors plans to discuss updating its own policies. Though Board Chair Nora Vargas said she prefers “collaboration and long-term support to break the cycle of homelessness” she also “understand[s] the urgency behind Gov. [Gavin] Newsom’s [recent statewide directive] to clear encampments.”
If all three cities plus the county adopt bans, they will join San Diego, Escondido, Poway, Vista and San Marcos in outlawing some form of camping on public property.
A little more than a year ago, encampments were permitted throughout the county and the consensus of experts and policymakers was that outreach and affordable housing, not enforcement, were the keys to solving homelessness. Now, the vast majority of San Diego County residents live in places where public camping is against the law.
“It’s a domino effect,” said John Brady of Lived Experience Advisors, a San Diego organization that advocates for the homeless. “It’s a foregone conclusion that pretty much every city is going to [outlaw encampments…] We have to rethink what we’re thinking and saying as advocates because we’ve lost the narrative.”
Mayor Ron Morrison of National City was more blunt about the sudden shift in policy and public opinion.
“The pendulum has swung,” he said. “It went from ‘[homeless] people have needs’ to ‘this just gets disgusting.’”
How We Got Here
The topline reason given by city leaders for the sudden policy shift is a June Supreme Court ruling that freed cities from an earlier requirement to provide adequate shelter before outlawing public camping.
The ruling ended a yearslong standoff between cities and advocates for the homeless, who say banning encampments without providing shelter simply criminalizes homelessness and does nothing to help struggling people.
Officials said the court case, which began with a lawsuit filed in 2020 on behalf of homeless residents in Grants Pass, Oregon, had an unintended effect. It gave cities four years to try alternate approaches—and decide that offering services alone often wasn’t enough to reduce the number of people on the streets.
John McCann, mayor of Chula Vista, said that since 2016 his city has sought to offer homeless people a growing range of services. A city outreach team of caseworkers and police officers seeks out homeless people and offers to connect them with help. The city recently opened a transitional shelter and is in the process of developing 156 units of permanent supportive housing. The city also provides vouchers for motels and offers rental assistance to struggling tenants.
A city report acknowledged that the vast majority supportive housing units will not be available until 2026 at the earliest. And the transitional shelter was initially slow to accept homeless clients because of building delays and a lengthy intake process.
Still, McCann said, outreach efforts frequently fail to move people into housing because “there were many people who for different reasons—mental health or drug addiction—they wouldn’t accept the help and wanted to stay on the streets…We have people we offer help to 30-plus times and they refuse services. Compassion is the way to go but we need to have boundaries.”
Outreach workers reported similar results in National City, where fewer than 20 percent of homeless people contacted over the past year accepted offers of help, according to a city report.
Since 2020, the number of homeless people in both cities has grown, nearly doubling in Chula Vista to roughly 650, according to federal statistics.
“We need to have an encampment ban to be able to protect neighborhoods and kids and families,” McCann said. “Encampments are happening…in the poorest parts of our community, and we need to be protecting our children in those poor neighborhoods.”
Changing Priorities
Brady said the rapid shift in public opinion has forced advocates to rethink their strategy in the face of both tougher laws and soaring housing costs.
Brady estimated it now costs an average of $3,000 per month to shelter one homeless person in San Diego County’s high-cost housing market, even as the number of people becoming homeless each year outstrips the number of shelter beds available.
“We can’t shelter our way out of this,” he said.
Instead, advocates now are seeking to overhaul the county’s entire approach to homelessness by encouraging greater coordination between service providers and lobbying the federal government for what Brady called “a Marshall Plan for housing.”
“We’re 171,000 units short of housing” in San Diego County, he said. “Everyone in San Diego talks about needing 10,000 units. That’s just treading water.”
The View from Residents
At a recent city council meeting in National City, residents lined up to voice their support for the city’s proposed encampment ban, which would outlaw camping on all public property, including near schools, waterways and major public transit stops.
No speaker opposed the ban and no activists attended in protest. Councilmembers voted unanimously to advance the ban for final consideration next week.
The proceedings were a marked contrast from five months ago, when a similar proposed ban drew strong opposition from activists and was rejected by councilmembers, who directed city staff to explore less punitive options.
Since then, said Councilmember Jose Rodriguez, who did not support the earlier ban, “I heard from residents who visit parks and don’t feel safe. That’s not okay…We need to protect our residents.”
Flor Burciaga, a National City resident who attended the council meeting in support of the ban, said that as a professional social worker, “empathy and compassion is innate in me. But how many times do you offer services to people who don’t want them? [I don’t want] to be punitive but there needs to be enforcement.”
Burciaga said she lives near Interstate 5 freeway, close to a homeless encampment. “Homeless people go through our trash and leave trash,” she said. “One of our neighbors had squatters come to his home and he was attacked by a man trying to stay in his shed. I used to want to help everyone and now I just want peace and quiet.”
Brady, of Lived Experience Advisors, said the proliferation of encampment bans has left homeless people feeling “angry, frustrated, mad and disturbed.” He predicted the bans would hurt more people than they helped. “Our deaths on the street will skyrocket this year,” he said.
Sitting at a shaded picnic table in Chula Vista’s Bayfront Park last week, Chula Vista resident Betty Calica offered a view that encompassed all sides of the debate. Calica said she herself has experienced homelessness. Yet, she insisted cities need to draw the line with people who refuse offers of help.
“The best way to do it is give [homeless people] a chance,” she said. “If [they] mess it up then the city shouldn’t do it again. By all means, have the police enforce it. You lost your opportunity the first time.”
Calica said she first became homeless 12 years ago after friends of her children vandalized the family’s apartment building and the family was evicted. Calica ended up on the streets and sent her children to live with their grandmother. The children ran away and were placed in foster care.
Being homeless “is devastating,” she said. “I was crying every day I was on the street.”
Calica said she sought help at a county service agency and was sent to Father Joe’s Villages in San Diego’s East Village. “They saved me,” she said. “I went every day and stood in line until I got” into the center’s residential program. “I got my kids back in three months,” she said.
Calica said the center’s many rules—“get up, make your bed, straighten your room, it’s like boot camp”—helped her stabilize her life. She became a chore supervisor and transitioned into permanent housing after a year. She said she now lives in an unairconditioned trailer near the Chula Vista waterfront and works part time at a 7-11 convenience store.
Calica said she spent a lot of time at Bayfront Park escaping the heat in her trailer and reading books on her phone.
“I know a lot of the homeless people around here,” she said. “They’ve been on the streets for years. They’re struggling with drugs, alcohol…The services are there. You have to want it. They’re there to help you, not screw you over…It’s more about the motivation. You have to stay positive. In the shower you have to say, ‘You can do this. You are strong. Thank you, God, for this day.’ I count my blessings every day.”
More San Diego cities roll out homeless encampment bans
Contributors: Carolyne Corelis / Video Journalist
Published July 30, 2024 at 2:51 PM PDT
Backpacks, blankets and sleeping bags spill out of a shopping cart next to Bobbie Coffelt.
She has been homeless in Escondido for six years.
Next to her is her 20-year-old son Jacob. He is autistic and doesn’t say much.
“That made it even more of a struggle,“ she said. “Being out here with my son, my mom … and just trying to keep together as a unit. But it gets difficult.”
Coffelt said camping in plain sight is for their safety — she feels rapes, attacks and theft happen more to people who are hidden.
But that is no longer possible for her. Escondido has joined a growing list of cities across San Diego County and the state who are banning homeless encampments.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson allows cities to ban homeless encampments in public areas, even if the cities don’t have enough shelter beds. Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order pressuring California cities to take action on dismantling the camps. If they don't, they could lose out on funding.
Coffelt fears her safety is fading.
“The cops … they tell everybody to move and everybody ends up going out into the jungle. I'm not going out to the jungle because things happen out there and I can't,” Coffelt said. “They push you further and further away from where you can get the resources.”
Her mom has dementia and is in a nursing home. Her son could get shelter in a group home, but doesn’t want to be without his mom.
“He doesn't want to be taken, singled out and put in a group home. I mean … Is that really how you handle something? You break up the family like that? It just doesn't seem right,” she said.
Coffelt doesn’t want to go to a shelter because she’d have to give up her cats.
KPBS
Holly Herring, a homeless advocate in North County, said the bans make it harder to help people.
“Ultimately, it makes people less trustworthy. So you'll hear a lot of people say they don't want help and you have to realize there's something you need to add to that sentence for it to make sense,” she said.
She used to be homeless and understands what people want and don’t want.
“They don't want the help you're offering or they don't want the help from you,” Herring said. “And there can be a point in time, after a number of engagements, where somebody can come to trust that you actually have a solution for them. They'll say, ’all right, I'm interested in that solution.’”
She thinks enforcement will burn any trust or relationship built with outreach workers.
“People are going to be more guarded about what they say, where they sleep at night, what kind of environment,“ she said. “Their interactions with law enforcement are going to make it more difficult when they do come with the solution to actually help house people.”
KPBS
When the cities of Escondido and San Marcos recently enforced encampment bans, they both referenced public safety in their decisions.
There is no homeless shelter in San Marcos, Instead, the city pays more than $100,000 for regional support every year.
“I am aware of these organizations that are helping in the community. But what I continue to encounter is the fact that we are told that either, there's no capacity, or that a family doesn't meet the particular qualifications,” San Marcos Councilmember Maria Nunez said.
She was the lone vote against the ban, saying it leaves homeless people with little to no options.
“What happens to that family? What happens to those individuals?” she asked. “And now that we are going to be enforcing, and potentially citing individuals, potentially ending up with misdemeanor citations, then I can't help to wonder… what are we going to do with these individuals? Are they going to be detained? Are they gonna be incarcerated? Where do they go?”
Interfaith Community Services is the largest homeless service provider in Escondido.
Roland Lizarondo
KPBS
CEO Greg Anglea said the recent orders mean people need places to go even more.
“More short-term housing options,“ he said. “But ultimately, what people need is a permanent home of their own. So it really calls for the need for rental assistance to help people overcome the high cost of getting into a new home.”
Back in Escondido, next to her overflowing shopping cart, Bobbie Coffelt has one message.
“If you really want to help, come out and meet the people,“ she said. “Figure out what can be done instead of enforcing these laws that just push everybody away and out. So we’re like hidden in the shadows, because we're never going to be hidden in the shadows. All we want to be is housed.”
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