The City Council voted 7-0 Tuesday to settle on a plan to respond to the upcoming loss of 614 city shelter beds in the next three months.
The plan calls for the city to prioritize expanding its safe campsites and parking programs for people who live in vehicles and exploring additional options at some underutilized shelter facilities as well as non-congregate spaces for seniors and families. It also calls for the Regional Task Force on Homelessness to help the city swiftly ramp up aid for people who have struggled to move out of shelters or are homeless for the first time.
Casey Snell of the San Diego Housing Commission said her team has had “very promising” conversations with a few service providers who may have capacity to take in more homeless San Diegans and is in talks with the Task Force. Task Force CEO Tamera Kohler confirmed her nonprofit is ready to assist and is negotiating a contract with the city’s housing agency.
Council’s first step: The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday, with Councilmembers Jennifer Campbell and Raul Campillo absent, to increase contracts with operators of the city’s two safe campsites in Balboa Park by about $1.2 million to support more than 230 additional tents. This means the city’s two safe campsites will soon collectively house 776 tents that can accommodate up to two residents each. There have been concerns about the conditions and housing outcomes associated with the two sites. Councilmembers and city officials said Tuesday they would proceed with the expansion because they believe the sites provide an important option for people uncomfortable in traditional shelter programs.
What’s next: City officials didn’t share updates on negotiations with hotel operators or discussions about other potential new shelter sites but promised to return to the City Council in late November or early December with more updates.
How we got here: Two large city shelters that until this summer collectively sheltered up to 614 people each night are set to close by the end of the year. One is the Golden Hall shelter in the City Hall complex and the second is Father Joe’s Villages’ Paul Mirabile Center, which the nonprofit plans to convert into a detox and sober living facility.
In other homelessness news: County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer and other regional leaders earlier this week celebrated a program that has helped 244 San Diegans avoid eviction or quickly return to housing. (Union-Tribune)
Introducing the South County Report…and Our New Reporter
For years, the Voice of San Diego crew has wanted to deliver more South Bay news. Now we’ve got a full-time South County reporter who will produce a regular newsletter packed with news.
This week new Voice reporter Jim Hinch is delivering his first South County Report. His first newsletter leads with the latest on the Tijuana sewage crisis, including an idea to use toll revenue from the Otay Mesa border crossing for treatment and clean-up efforts.
Also the newsletter: Hinch’s review of big South County political races, the National City mayor’s concerns about a Port of San Diego plan to install battery charging stations in his city and more.
Read the full South County Report.
Song of the Week
Clikatat Ikatowi, “Affirmation”: Frenetic and screeching, “Affirmation,” is Clikatat Ikatowi at its best. The band inundates the listener with frenzied drums, squalls of distorted guitar and the trademark exasperated, shouting vocals. For fans of messy, noisy post-hardcore and punk, “Affirmation,” has it all.
Read more about the Song of the Week here.
Like what you hear? Check out Clikatat Ikatowi at Casbah on Tuesday, Oct. 8.
Do you have a “Song of the Week” suggestion? Shoot us an email and a sentence or two about why you’ve been bumping this song lately. Friendly reminder: all songs should be by local artists.
In Other News
- On Tuesday, the San Diego City Council became the latest local governmental body to ask the feds to declare a national emergency on the ongoing Tijuana River sewage crisis. (City News Service)
- The city is rolling out a process to predict where pothole repairs are needed in a bid to increase equity. (Union-Tribune)
- The Convoy District now has a 30-foot sign welcoming visitors to the city’s Pan-Asian culinary and cultural hub. (Times of San Diego)
- After a key vote last week, San Diego State can seek state and federal permits to build a bridge over the San Diego River. (Union-Tribune)
- Times of San Diego reports that former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, who is now running for county supervisor, worked as a consultant for a company overseeing work on the controversy-plagued State 125 toll road and met frequently with then-SANDAG CEO Hasan Ikhrata.
- The San Diego County Water Authority announced Tuesday that it’s got the water supply needed to get the region through the next year. (City News Service)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt, Jakob McWhinney and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.