At the Jan. 16 Chula Vista Council meeting, Council listened to a presentation from staff concerning the ongoing problems of homelessness in the city, with a focus on problems faced currently along Industrial Boulevard. Presenters included Chula Vista Housing & Homeless Services Director Stacey Kurz, Chula Vista Homeless Solutions Manager Angelica Davis, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan, and Chula Vista Police Department Homeless Outreach Team’s Lt. Ernie Pinedo.
Kurz said the area in discussion is just west of the Palomar Trolley Station. She said the efforts in discussion are not with increased staffing but moving the HOT to outreach in this area. She said in asking direction on more focus on this area included knowing that there could be other impacts in other places in the city as they do not have any other additional resources at this time.
“This effort is a continuous effort that the city has been going through even before Harborside Park and this team makes decisions on areas that are being most impacted by the unsheltered in the community, and in the most need of resources,” she said.
Pinedo said that with Harborside Park, there were several incidences that led to its closure.
A stabbing incident in November 2020, the gazebo removed in October 2021, the small tot lot removed in March 2022, the large tot lot removed in April 2022, a deceased body discovered against the school fence line in May 2022, and a shooting incident in August 2022, with the park’s closure on Aug. 31. 2022. He said the average number of encampments in the Harborside and Industrial areas they encountered on a weekly basis were 30 in 2021, more than 70 in 2022, 20 in 2023, and so far in 2024 over 70.
“Individuals that were congregating in Harborside Park, transitioned to the area over on Industrial Boulevard,” he said. “MTS went out and erected a fence to provide a brief solution to that area,” adding that though it helped, it increased the number of homeless individuals in Chula Vista’s jurisdiction.
Pinedo said the current community impacts from this are drug use and overdose, prostitution, theft, assaults, stolen property, trash, debris, graffiti along the boundaries of Harborside Elementary, Brentwood Mobile Home Park, and surrounding businesses.
On Dec. 19 2,000 square feet of graffiti was removed in the Industrial Boulevard area. On Jan. 12, HOT, Public Works Department, The Alpha Project, and McAlister Institute collected 36,540 pounds of trash, removed 63 tents, provided resources to the individuals.
“By 8 p.m. that evening we already had 12 encampments and 17 individuals back in that vicinity,” he said.
Stephan said that homelessness is a humanitarian crisis, but also a public safety crisis.
“I know people are there because of poverty, trauma from domestic violence, but we also have an intersection with criminality,” she said. “It is not a one size fits all, and the solutions are not one size fits all…The solutions that we bring are not going to work without better laws.”
Stephan said because data is not available, her office has a data collection system to track homelessness and crime intersections, which was started three years ago.
“After three years of data I can tell you that the information is definitive,” she said.
Looking at the data, she said homeless on the street are victims of murder and attempted murder at 39 times the rate as someone who is not homeless, homeless individuals have been charged in residential burglaries at 187 times the rate, aggravated assaults are 109 times higher, arson is 381 times higher than those that are not homeless. The Medical Examiner track overdose deaths by homelessness, and homeless individuals are dying from overdoses at 118 times the rate of someone who is not homeless.
Stephan said Proposition 47 passed in 2014, with some great intentions, and should continue in many aspects, but other aspects need immediate and urgent reform. She said if someone steals under $900, or uses hard drugs such as methamphetamine and fentanyl, it is a misdemeanor. She said the law failed to put any breaks on habitual offenders. She said law enforcement hands are tied to help the rampant effects of this law. Stephan said more homeless individuals are facing severe addiction and mental illness, and it is not clear which came first.
“Either way we are in a terrible position right now,” she said. “Because we have a law that does not protect the individuals or the community. That must change. More problems have come from our Ninth Circuit that decided Martin vs. Boise, to decide it is one or the other, which is should not be. Meaning that a person can camp outside your business or a school unless you have suitable housing for them.”
Stephan said the US Supreme Court has agreed to look at that decision, hoping they will make some distinguishing laws to allow police officers to lawfully and properly engage.
Chula Vista Police Chief Roxana Kennedy said that the police department utilizes compassion when dealing with homeless individuals, but that the community is struggling.
“When I hear business owners up here talking about the challenges they are facing, I think we need to look at it from both sides,” she said. “I think sometimes, we are only looking at the individuals who are unsheltered with challenges. But our community members are challenged also.”
Kennedy said she has seen the laws change, and she understands why, but with people who commit crimes, there should be consequences.
“Right now, in our society, there are individuals who are taking advantage of our communities. They are taking advantage of public safety. And we are dealing with the consequences,” she said.
Staff’s current policy direction and efforts are using service providers and voucher use licensing, targeted restriction on sitting, lying, sleeping, targeted regulations on storing items, regulations for vehicle dwelling, and regulations on shopping carts. Additional mitigation measures for council to consider are adopting an Unsafe Camping ordinance, with an estimated cost of $150,000 in policy development and $400,000 in enforcement. Develop a lower barrier shelter (safe camping or parking) at a $1 million startup cost and $500,000 annual operations, relocating fencing along Industrial Boulevard at approximately $350,000 that would come out of the City’s General Fund.
Council found consensus on directing staff to relocate the fence, develop a lower barrier shelter, increase the staffing of HOT members, and staff to return with an analysis regarding the use of accessory dwelling units.
