Written by Nicholas Vetrisek
Governor Gavin Newsom has recently been trying to force California cities to build new homeless shelters in exchange for vacant land. Unfortunately for Newsom, city officials are refusing.
Local leaders are refusing his plan due to the fact that it would require millions of dollars to be diverted from services provided to residents. Instead, it would be used to address the new homeless population now living there. The plan is lopsided in favor of the state as a result and whatever promise of land that the governor may or may not keep would not do anything to help pay for the shelters.
A perfect example of the situation local leaders are talking about is the Santa Ana National Guard Armory. While Orange County was lauded for what was supposedly an excellent solution to the homelessness crisis, the City of Santa Ana experienced something quite different. In January, the city filed a lawsuit alleging that other cities in the county are simply dumping their homeless population at the armory. It’s forcing the city to spend more and more money draining their funds and hampering important services.
In addition to the millions of dollars it would cost, city leaders are also apprehensive due to the fact that the state simply hasn’t given them any information. According to CalMatters, “The elected leaders say they’ve received little information about how the shelters will operate or who will operate them. They don’t know how people will get to and from the sites. They don’t know how neighbors might react. And they’re still unclear who will pay for it all.”
Thankfully for the cities, they aren’t under any obligations to house the homeless in this new plan. Oceanside Mayor Peter Weiss put it best when he said, “It’s unlikely the governor is going to come to the city of Oceanside and say, here’s several million dollars to go build a new sobering center, or a new shelter. Just because the governor orders something doesn’t mean anything’s going to happen.”
Homelessness is a major issue in California, but as local officials have shown, Governor Newsom’s plan simply is’t the answer.
