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By Miriam Raftery
Photo: former homeless camp in unincorporated El Cajon later cleared by the County, which opened a safe parking lot on the site
June 22, 2023 (San Diego) – El Cajon’s City Council voted unanimously on June 13 to direct staff to draft an ordinance prohibiting camping on any public property, such as sidewalks and parks. The ordinance would mirror a similar, controversial ordinance adopted by the San Diego City Council 5-4 on the same date.
The El Cajon proposal was brought forward by Mayor Bill Wells and Councilman Phil Ortiz. It also asks staff to analyze the San Diego ordinance, including enforcement options and legality. There was no public comment or Council discussion before the vote.
San Diego’s “Unsafe Camping” ordinance bans homeless persons from camping in all public spaces citywide, provided that shelter beds are available. A court has previously held that outlawing homeless camps is unconstitutional unless shelter space is available and homeless persons are offered space.
San Diego’s ban also prohibits tent camps at all times, regardless of shelter bed availability, near sensitive sites such as schools, parks, canyons and transit stations.
The San Diego ordinance won’t take effect, however, until 30 days after the opening of the first of two planned “safe sleeping lots” that will include access to restroom facilities and services.
In El Cajon, Councilman Gary Kendrick told ECM he believes banning camping would pass legal muster because “we have openings now at the East County Transitional Living Center,” a facility which offers shelter and help to transition people off the streets.
According to the most recent Point in Time Count of the homeless done in January, the city of San Diego had 2,494 unsheltered homeless people and 3,215 in shelters –a 31% increase in homelessness overall over the 2022 count.
In El Cajon, the count found 1,157 sheltered homeless people and only 185 who were unsheltered, though the city’s overall homeless rate rose by 9% over the prior year.
There can be many reasons why some individuals remain unsheltered even if shelter beds are available. Some don’t want their families separated, since shelters generally separate men from women. A mother could not share a room with a disabled adult son, for instance, nor can spouses or romantic partners share a bed. Many homeless people don’t want to be separated from a dog or other pet, which shelters don’t accommodate. Others have had a bad experience being robbed or assaulted in a shelter (a risk that is also present on the streets). Still others may refuse shelter because they are addicted to drugs or alcohol, and don’t want to comply with clean-and-sober requirements. Others may simply not know where to find shelter.
San Diego’s ordinance has drawn outspoken comments on both sides.
Alliance San Diego blasted the measure that it says will “criminalize unsheltered people simply for sleeping, subjecting them to fines and arrests at all times in certain areas….Let’s be clear: the ban penalizes the condition of poverty and does nothing to help the people get back on their feet.” The nonprofit organization, in its statement sent to media, notes, “While the City presented ideas for increasing shelter facilities and camping areas, those ideas were not accompanied by the resources needed to provide adequate, safe sleeping for unhoused community members. The fact remains that our temporary shelters are nearly full and are out of reach for thousands of people in San Diego.” The group’s statement also warned that the City’s action could jeopardize future grant funding to build affordable housing needed to ease the homelessness crisis.
The measure divided the all-Democratic San Diego City Council.
Mayor Todd Gloria, advocating for passage, said, “Letting people continue to live in squalor on our sidewalks is not showing compassion; it’s showing indifference. WE won’t let that be the case in our city.”
Gloria noted that encampments threaten public health and safety, both for those living in the camps and people who live, work, or attend school nearby. Those risks include the spread of disease, such as the current hepatitis outbreak, violence, exploitation by dealers of deadly drugs, and fires that have started at homeless camps.
Gloria was joined in voting for the ordinance by Councilmembers Jennifer Campbell, Raul Campillo, Joe La Cava and Marni Von Wilpert.
Voting against it were Sean Elo-Rivera, Monica Montgomery Steppe (who is running for Supervisor), Kent Lee and Vivian Moreno. Lee said, “This makes a promise to the public that we can never deliver,” also voicing concerns about “stigmatizing a population that is extremely vulnerable.”
Republican State Senator Brian Jones offered rare praise to the Democrats who voted to adopt the San Diego Unsafe Camping ban. “As I’ve said from the beginning, compassionately clearing encampments is not a partisan issue.” But he criticized Democrats in the State Capitol for blocking his Senate Bill 31 in committee, which would have prohibited homeless camps near sensitive sites such as schools, daycare centers, parks and libraries.
Jones says he will be monitoring implementation and effectiveness of San Diego’s ordinance, “with the goal of taking it statewide. Iti’s time to fix California,” the East County legislator concluded.
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