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By Jessyka Heredia
Photos provided by Shane O'Garro
August 1, 2023 (Lemon Grove) –
On July 18, Lemon Grove was the fourth city in East County to pass an emergency ordinance that will pave the way to hopefully having more shelter beds in East County and sharing the burden with other East County cities by applying for grant money as a region instead of individual cities The Council voted 4-0 with Liana LeBaron absent.
Currently only El Cajon has a shelter in East County. It’s called East County Transitional Living Center and has certain requirements to qualify, such as no convicted sex offenders, no outstanding warrants, a willingness to work and to become clean and sober.
Lemon Grove is joining forces with the County of San Diego and the cities of El Cajon, La Mesa and Santee to address the need for more emergency shelters in the East County Region. This resolution enables these cities to build different forms of shelter to help in combatting homelessness with a joint effort approach.
Ordinance No. 463 to Adopt by Reference Appendix P of the 2022 California Building Standards Code (Title 24) essentially makes it easier to bypass building codes for these emergency shelters and make applying for grants for these emergency shelters much easier on public land. Recently, Lemon Grove found out through the annual countywide point in time count that the city has seen its unsheltered residents double in the last year from 31 to 60 people. Lemon Grove was not alone in numbers increasing but did see the largest increase of all the other East County cities. Santee saw an increase from 48-76 unhoused individuals and El Cajon rose from 185 to 203 unhoused individuals while La Mesa saw the smallest increase going from 35 to 36 unhoused individuals.
Lydia Romero, the City Manager for Lemon Grove, explained during the City Council meeting that the “County wanted to do a regional approach to combat homelessness.” Romero said, “Homeless individuals move amongst the jurisdictions, both in the County and incorporated cities. So when we go out for grants, we are a bigger region and [have] a better chance at getting the grants, especially if we are going up against the city of San Diego or the city of Chula Vista.”
Romero said this resolution will “allow shelters to be on publicly owned or publicly leased sites. It creates a statutory exemption to CEQA (The California Environmental Quality Act); ordinary negligence is waived, building safety and code requirements suspended in some cases.”
Special Planning consultant for the city, Greg Mattson said in his presentation, “The City can look for individual parcels, so for instance within the emergency shelter we have a variety of different housing opportunities that you can have, from tent cabins to sheltered housing to other canopies and then allowing that to happen. But before you do that, you have to have the emergency declaration, which is the ordinance and the resolution that is before you tonight.”
When the Council was allowed to ask questions to staff, Councilmember Jennifer Mendoza said, “I believe we do have a shelter crisis here in Lemon Grove just based off of the last count that we did in January with the San Diego task force on the homeless and just our own general observations. We definitely see this has become a crisis.”
Mendoza asked about changes to the building code back in 2018 and asked Mattson, “That was part of our housing album, correct?” Mr. Mattson replied, “Yes.” Mendoza continued with “So we designated an area, which is down by where Health and Human Services is, and in designating those areas we took a couple of things into consideration. One of those things is we wanted those areas to be near public transportation, near things like stores, and facilities and services and not in the middle of a residential neighborhood. I’m just not clear on how this ordinance is different than what we did previously.”
Mattson responded, “Appendix P will allow, and they encourage, having this near commercial or near a trolley station, so those would be the sites that will be identified. There are no sites identified under Appendix P. It’s up to the city to decide where those sites are. Basically, what this does is allow you the flexibility to build those where you desire to have those based on the criteria that you’ve set. “
Councilmember Alysson Snow said, “There is no way Lemon Grove by itself is going to be able to do this. It is definitely a regional problem. I’m out there every Tuesday myself or my staff at East County regional homeless resource and from there we bring a bunch of different people in from different organizations to outreach in El Cajon.” Snow said, “We have a lot of ground to make up to be good partners in the East County region.”
ECM reached out to Shane O’Garro from Church of Salvation who currently provides outreach with a group of volunteers every single Monday right in the heart of Lemon Grove, to see a glimpse into what the people doing outreach see and what he feels could be done to improve outreach in Lemon Grove and the East County region.
When asked about what shelters were available in East County, O’Garro said, “As of now, the sole emergency shelter available in East County is the East County Transitional Center, and you can reach them at (619) 442-0457. While it's promising to know that other organizations are actively working to establish additional shelters in the county, the information I have heard only mentions 2-3 such projects in progress. Although this is a positive development, it still falls short of meeting the needs of the substantial homeless population in East County.”
We asked O’Garro if the Point in time count was accurate. He responded, “A point in time is precisely that – a snapshot of a specific moment. It may not be as precise as having someone observe the situation daily. Another factor to consider is that people are mobile, and when they seek a place to rest, they prefer privacy, making them more challenging to locate consistently. Nevertheless, despite its limitations, this approach is valuable as it provides us with an insight into the scope of the problem.”
ECM asked O’Garro what he sees as the best way for these cities to come together to make this work so that the burden of tackling homelessness is not on one city more than another. O’Garro said, “Cities must acknowledge that addressing homelessness goes beyond merely providing housing; it's not a quick fix but rather a temporary solution. They should unite to offer comprehensive wrap-around services, such as mental health support, behavioral assistance, sustainable financial aid, and the establishment of suitable shelters for the unhoused. By pooling our resources and working together, we have the potential to truly transform the homelessness dynamic, rather than merely applying short-term measures.”
When it comes to his team’s experiences with doing outreach in Lemon Grove specifically, O’Garro told ECM, “Despite the increasing number of homeless people arriving in Lemon Grove, the city has been faced with barriers to help combat homelessness. The homelessness situation within a small 3-mile radius is deteriorating, leading to a rise in crime. However, efforts are being made to make a positive impact. Collaborating with the Lemon Grove Improvement Council, our group has been reaching out to the homeless population on a human level, providing essential items like food, clothing, and assistance to those who are receptive. Every Monday at 2:30, they gather near the big lemon, demonstrating love and consistency in their support.”
O’Garro said, “Our endeavors have resulted in a 5% success rate, with some individuals transitioning into housing. The ultimate goal is to establish a day center and a shelter in Lemon Grove. Progress has already been made with the day center aspect through partnerships with organizations like Uptown Community in North Park, where amenities such as showers and mail services are available.” He adds, “Moreover, the effort doesn't stop there. In September, we will be leading another outreach team in Mira Mesa to extend their assistance to the unhoused in that area. The overarching vision remains consistent everywhere: to aid those in need, help them secure stable positions in their lives, and provide support to lift them out of homelessness. I always say to my clients, I am invested in your stability. “
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