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By Paul Levikow
Image, left: Rendering of Troy Street Sleeping Cabins Project
October 22, 2025 (Lemon Grove) – The County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve negotiations with Caltrans to purchase land for the Troy Street Sleeping Cabins Project in Lemon Grove, after hearing comments overwhelmingly in opposition from residents and two City Councilmembers.
The project plan calls for building tiny homes on an undeveloped lot at 2800 Sweetwater Road and Troy Street, which the County expects to pay about $2 million to buy from the state. It’s part of the County’s Compassionate Emergency Solutions and Pathways to Housing efforts for people experiencing homelessness.
There were 26 requests to speak in person in the board chambers or on the phone. There were 78 e-comments in opposition submitted, while 5 e-comments were in support of the plan. Opponents warned of the potential for an increase in crime in the area, or said the project was too expensive and too close to an early childhood education center, or that the Board should focus on permanent solutions instead of temporary ones.
Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe (photo, right) represents District 4, where the parcel is located.
“This step is about due diligence, making sure we understand the terms, the cost and conditions before bringing back to the board a proposal to complete the purchase of the property,” Montgomery Steppe said. “This is very real lifesaving intervention and measures that we are talking about.”
Montgomery Steppe said it is a moral responsibility to implement solutions like interim emergency housing.
“There are going to be community members that don’t want this, no matter what we do and what we say,” she said. “I have been dedicated to making sure that there are solutions for people who are out on the streets in our communities that qualify for this type of help that would be given to them at this type of project.:
Lemon Grove City Councilmembers Jessyka Heredia and Yadira Altamirano expressed their opposition to the Supervisors before the vote.
“Our community is facing significant challenges related to homelessness and crime,” Altamirano said. “And it is crucial that we recognize that we are already a disadvantaged community.”
Altamirano asked the Supervisors to get more input from the community before making their decision.
“This not a routine administrative matter, it is a significant land use issue that directly impacts the quality of life in our community,” Heredia said. “The proposed tiny sleeping cabins are slated to be located just two blocks from a newly-built, state-of-the-art, early childhood education center serving children ages 3 to 5.”
She continued, “Our small and under-served community is not equipped to absorb the impacts of this project. This proposal has already caused significant community backlash.”
Lemon Grove Mayor Alysson Snow called into the board chambers via a phone to say she is in favor of the project.
“We need emergency transitional housing and we need it yesterday,” Snow said. “The magnitude of the problem has only grown.”
Tuesday’s 4-1 vote, with District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond casting the lone no vote, supports the County’s goal to provide just and equitable access to services and resources. It also protects the health and well-being of everyone in the region and improves access to critical emergency housing and homelessness services, including housing navigation, financial support, employment services, and access to behavioral healthcare, according to the County.
County staff reported that the Troy Street project will expand access to emergency housing and homelessness services to marginalized populations and assist them in attaining support to secure and retain permanent housing.
Originally, the county was going to lease the property. But since it was initially purchased by Caltrans using federal grant funds, it required the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to approve the use of the site. That approval was granted during President Joe Biden’s administration. The approval was subsequently rescinded under President Donald Trump’s administration. Caltrans recently informed the County that the only viable path forward would be for the County to purchase the land directly from Caltrans at an estimated price of about $2 million. The Board also had to adopt a resolution declaring that the property will be used for public purposes as a condition of the purchase.
The planning, assessment, design and pre-construction activities have been completed, and groundbreaking is expected in the summer of 2026 after the final approval by the board.
Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer (photo, left) pointed out that the county has a diverse population of unhoused individuals.
“There are a lot of people who need a place to go and we…have an ethical and moral duty to do everything we can to put a roof over the heads of people who are currently sleeping on our streets,” Lawson-Remer said. “It’s not just embarrassing, but immoral that in one of the wealthiest countries in the world…we have people sleeping under an overpass.”
According to the Regional Taskforce on Homelessness, the 2025 Point-in-Time Count identified 9,905 individuals living on the streets or in shelters in San Diego County. Of those, 5,714 individuals were counted as unsheltered. Regionwide, there was a decrease of 7% from the previous year. Among those experiencing unsheltered homelessness, 7% are veterans, 7% are youth, 1% are families, and 46% are chronically homeless.
Montgomery Steppe acknowledged Irma Perez, a 43-year-old mother of three, who was found lying in a flooded culvert near the railroad tracks along Main Street in Lemon Grove in July. She was hospitalized, went into a coma and later died.
“This was a few miles from the proposed (Troy Street) site. I truly believe her death was preventable for a lot of different reasons,” Montgomery Steppe said. “Irma should not have died and I don’t want to face that situation again because we had the opportunity and did not act on it.”
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