SAN DIEGO — The San Diego City Council is expected to vote on Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget Tuesday. Gloria’s current spending plan includes funding for a large homeless shelter in Middletown.
On Monday city leaders discussed the spending plan behind closed doors, and one of the mayor’s biggest critics, San Diego mayoral candidate Larry Turner, is speaking out.
Gloria wants to open the 1,000 bed shelter in Middletown. It would cost the city $2 million a year to rent out the building.
"This is critical to our ability to get people off the streets. When we have people in encampments it's unhealthy and unsafe for the homeless individual and everyone in the same community," Gloria said.
The mayor wants to convert a 65,000 square foot warehouse on Kettner and Vine into a mega-shelter for 1,000 people. It would be the largest homeless shelter in San Diego.
"People with common sense know this is a bad plan, people who live in that neighborhood and the homeless people I talk to. It's a bad plan they don't want to go there," said mayoral candidate Larry Turner.
He says he doesn't agree with putting the mega-shelter in Middletown. CBS 8 asked Turner where he would build a shelter if he was mayor.
"Areas out in east Otay. Amazing spots out there that I've gone out to and looked over. Some city owned property some open land where we could build something. Other areas in the city like the property of Fry's off of the 15," he said.
Last week, Turner and some of his supporters carried signs and were shouting during a Gloria news conference. The protesters were critical of the mega-shelter plan in Middletown and safe parking project planned for the H barracks in Point Loma. CBS 8 asked Turner what his approach would be to tackle the homeless crisis.
"Wraparound services so that it's not just a place to push them to to say you moved them out of downtown. You take them somewhere to start their lifechanging. everything from the medical facilities there," he said.
The city council heard from more than a dozen people during public comment speaking against the mega shelter Monday. This included concerns over crime and cost.
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