San Diego Citizens may want to keep an eye on an upcoming proposal aimed at addressing the issue of homelessness in the city. Councilmember Stephen Whitburn has put forward an ordinance that seeks to ban homeless encampments on San Diego sidewalks, parks, and other public places. The proposed ordinance is scheduled to be heard by the Land Use and Housing Committee, with the possibility of advancing to the full City Council for approval. Whitburn and Mayor Todd Gloria announced plans for the ordinance last month, recognizing the frustrations of residents in the area over the city’s perceived lack of response to downtown encampments. The proposed ordinance focuses on camping on public property, with violations being prosecuted as misdemeanors. Although the proposal is a step in the right direction, it is important to note that enforcement will only begin after new resources for homeless people are created.<\/p>\n
The original article link can be read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Ordinance Banning Encampments on San Diego Sidewalks to Get Its First Hearing This Week<\/h1>\n
SAN DIEGO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\u00a0A proposal to ban homeless encampments on San Diego sidewalks, parks and other places is expected to get a hearing this week.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Stephen Whitburn\u2019s proposed ordinance is scheduled to be heard Thursday by the Land Use and Housing Committee, which could lead to it advancing to the full City Council for approval.<\/p>\n
Whitburn and Mayor Todd Gloria announced plans for the\u00a0ordinance last month<\/a>. The proposal comes at a time when downtown encampments in the council member\u2019s district have surged to record highs and\u00a0residents in the area\u00a0<\/a>have expressed frustration at what they see as the city\u2019s lack of response.<\/p>\n
Change isn\u2019t going to happen overnight, however. Besides having to first go through a committee hearing and then approval by the City Council, Gloria said last month that enforcement would begin after new resources for homeless people are created.<\/p>\n
The mayor was referring to a new safe parking lot for people who live in vehicles and Whitburn\u2019s plan to create a \u201csafe sleeping\u201d area, an alternative to shelters that would provide people in encampments a place to legally live outdoors.<\/p>\n
Federal law prohibits people from being cited for sleeping in public places if there are not other options, such as shelters. The addition of a new safe parking lot and safe sleeping area would give the city more flexibility for enforcement.<\/p>\n
The safe parking lot is expected to open this month, but Whitburn has not found a place for the safe sleeping project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe safe sleeping initiative is going to take longer, but I\u2019m hoping that by the summer we\u2019ll get our first safe sleeping site up and running,\u201d Whitburn said. \u201cWe have not settled on a location definitely yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Homeless shelters, safe parking lots and even storage facilities used by homeless people often are opposed by community members who don\u2019t want any homeless services in their neighborhood, and Whitburn already has run into opposition to his safe sleeping plan.<\/p>\n
He had discussed using an under-used parking area called Inspiration Point in Balboa Park as a safe sleeping site, but community groups that support the park have come out\u00a0against the plan<\/a>\u00a0as an inappropriate use.<\/p>\n
Whitburn has not abandoned the site, but isn\u2019t committed to it as the only location for a safe sleeping area. But even after a site is located, there still would be many time-consuming steps before it could open.<\/p>\n
Funding will have to be identified, possibly with the help of philanthropy, and the property would have to be prepared to accommodate the project. The city also would have to put a contract out to bid to hire a service provider to run the operation, adding more time to the process.<\/p>\n
With all those steps in mind, Whitburn is hopeful enforcement of a new ordinance could begin by mid-year.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy intent is people will begin to see a downtown and a city where more people are living in shelter and safe sleeping sites and other better options, and fewer people living in encampments,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m confident we will get there. I don\u2019t want to put a specific timeline on that because I\u2019m more interested in doing this right, but I do think we will be making progress this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n