SAN DIEGO — San Diego's 'Unsafe Camping Ordinance' is scheduled to go into effect July 30, according to Mayor Todd Gloria.
Wednesday morning, the mayor and Council Member Stephen Whitburn spoke to reporters about the council's 5-4 decision to pass the ordinance Tuesday night.
"I believe, regardless of how anyone voted last night, every council member is happy this ordinance passed. How do I know that? Because all of them have significant numbers of encampments in their city council districts. All of them contact me every week asking something to be done about them," said Mayor Gloria. "The good news is now we have more tools to be able to address those calls for action from those council districts and to address the health and safety conditions of the streets of their neighborhoods."
The decision to pass the unsafe camping ordinance happened late Tuesday night during a 10-hour council meeting. More than 200 people spoke during the public comment portion.
Starting at the end of July, homeless encampments will be banned within two blocks of schools, some parks, near waterways and along trolley tracks. It would also make all camping on public property illegal when shelter options are available.
Alliance San Diego, a group strongly opposed to the ordinance, released the following statement Wednesday.
"We are disappointed by the short-sighted vote that 5 San Diego City Council members took last night to choose a ban on homeless encampments over a plan to house them. While the City presented ideas for increasing shelter facilities and camping areas, those ideas were not accompanied by the resources needed to provide adequate safe sleeping for unhoused community members. The fact remains that our shelters are nearly full and out of reach for thousands of people in San Diego.
The vote last night ignored best practices and the City’s own 2019 Community Action Plan Homelessness, all of which caution against encampment bans because they disrupt the ability to assist the unsheltered community with case management that leads to housing and services. In ignoring best practices, the City jeopardizes grant funding for the thing that San Diego needs most — affordable housing.
We applaud the council members — Sean Elo-Rivera, Monica Montgomery, Kent Lee, and Vivan Moreno — who understood the information before them, heard the voices of housing experts and unsheltered community members, and voted against the ban because it was not a plan. These council members acted in good governance and centered human dignity, which is what we need from all elected officials."
Father Joe's Villages released the following statement Wednesday as well:
“Adequately expanding the number and types of shelters, providing wrap-around services and opening safe campgrounds for people experiencing homelessness is critical.
We must also invest in compassionate street outreach solutions and connect our neighbors in need with healthcare and wrap-around services when administering homelessness measures. We are grateful the Mayor understands that an enforcement-only approach would harm our neighbors experiencing homelessness.
With the Regional Task Force on Homelessness reporting a 22 percent increase in homelessness over the last year, including among seniors and women, we need more accessible housing, shelter options, and services now.
Our homelessness crisis is a housing crisis. We will continue to increase services here at Father Joe’s Villages, and we urge the City to prioritize affordable housing. Once people have a safe, stable place to live, we can better uplift them with a diversity of wrap-around services like medical care, counseling, and other services to help them stay on a healthy productive path.”