San Diego's controversial Unsafe Camping Ordinance came into effect a few days ago, finding 30 individuals in violation within just the first days of enforcement. While the ordinance seeks to ban homeless encampments in many areas of the city if shelter beds are available, it has been met with resistance, as critics argue that there are not enough shelter beds at the moment.
According to NBC 7 San Diego, in the first three days of enforcement, San Diego's police made contact with 30 people violating the ordinance, resulting in three arrests for outstanding warrants and two citations for violating the ordinance. SDPD Capt. Shawn Takeuchi told NBC 7 that anecdotally, local police officers claim they have seen fewer homeless people in Balboa Park, a popular area for encampments and the only area currently seeing forcement of the ordinance. The police say they have plans to gradually expand across the city.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria has emphasized that the goal of the Unsafe Camping Ordinance is to "get folks off the streets who are, for the most part, not moving towards resolving their underlying cause of their homelessness and are living in extremely dangerous situations," per ABC 10 News. Five San Diego Police officers are currently enforcing the ban, beginning with parks and schools, which are prohibited areas regardless of shelter availability. However, the availability of shelter beds remains a contentious issue in San Diego. While the city has made efforts to expand shelter capacity, opponents criticize the pace of this progress as insufficient.
The city also opened a new safe sleeping site in June, with capacity for an additional 61 tents, but this has not been enough to offset concerns regarding the ban's enforcement. With the upcoming closure of Golden Hall, a shelter that accommodated over 500 people, there is added pressure to find alternative accommodation for those affected. The city has plans to relocate some residents to an old motel in Barrio Logan, but this solution will not provide enough space for everyone
As the encampment ban enforcement expands, the city aims to launch a larger safe sleeping site this fall, with capacity for up to 400 tents and approximately 150 people. However, the success of these initiatives, and ultimately the alleviation of the homelessness crisis in San Diego, depends on the city's ability to secure more shelter beds and alternative housing options for its homeless population, as well as addressing the root causes of homelessness.
Neighboring city Poway has also approved its own encampment ban, scheduled to go into effect on August 16, 2023. This decision has been met with backlash from housing advocates, who criticize the lack of resources available within Poway itself and argue that criminalizing homelessness will only make it harder for those affected to find housing later on. With the nearest shelter being 15 miles away, opponents are urging officials to consider implementing affordable housing options and better resource allocation to address homelessness more effectively.
Despite changes that are seemingly underway, the long-term effects of both San Diego and Poway's encampment ban enforcement remain to be seen. In fact, the mayor himself stated that reasonable supporters and critics should never have expected immediate, major changes from the ordinance, but instead that any change would come about progressively.
