OFFICIAL PROPOSES HOMELESS PLAN

Oceanside councilman calls for action, suggests hotel vouchers, services

After hearing from many Oceanside residents who are upset about litter, fire hazards and other issues related to homelessness, City Councilman Chris Rodriguez is proposing emergency actions to create greater enforcement while also putting people on a path to recovery and housing.

“Let’s do it now and stop messing around,” Rodriguez said about a plan he will discuss at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. “Enough’s enough. Let’s make this happen.”

The city already is pursuing a plan to open an emergency shelter at the site of the former Ocean Shores High School at the corner of Oceanside Boulevard and El Camino Real, and it is seeking more affordable housing.

Rodriguez said he wants the city to take action that will see results faster. Among the steps he is proposing is to dip into the city’s $9 million inclusionary housing fund to provide hotel vouchers that police officers can give to homeless people.

“There’s no better use for those funds than to help the homeless right now,” he said.

Besides getting people temporarily off the street, Rodriguez said the vouchers could provide police a way to cite homeless people who are uncooperative, a power they don’t have now.

That issue stems from a 2009 lawsuit filed in Idaho by homeless people who sued the city of Boise after they were repeatedly ticketed for sleeping outdoors. The homeless people argued that they had no other place to be because no shelter beds or other accommodations were available.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the plaintiffs and the Supreme Court refused to hear the case in 2019, leaving the lower court ruling in place.

The decision affects Oceanside because the city has no shelter; people sleeping outdoors cannot be

cited since they have no other place to sleep.

Rodriguez said his plan would create an opportunity for police to again enforce the law against sleeping outdoors. In some cases, a homeless person would have a choice between taking the voucher or being cited or arrested, he said.

“Our cops are not out there trying to arrest someone for being homeless, but there are individuals who are constantly causing issues,” he said about how the enforcement power could be used against people known to destroy public property, break into buildings and cause other problems.

Rodriguez also said the city’s municipal code should prohibit putting tents on public property.

“We have a large population of homeless who are now setting up camps and tents in public spaces,” he said. “It’s a lot more visible. The calls I’m getting from constituents about it (have) increased.”

But Rodriguez said his plan isn’t just about increased enforcement. He also is calling on the city to work with a nonprofit that

will provide services at the shelter when it does open, and he wants the city to work with a variety of nonprofits, including ones that do not follow housing-first guidelines required by agencies funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Under housing-first, homeless people cannot be denied housing if they use drugs or have other issues. Proponents of the approach say providing a stable environment as a first step makes recovery more likely, while opponents say housing first can perpetuate bad behavior and create unsafe environments for others living nearby.

Rodriguez said he also is open to the city exploring alternative forms of affordable housing, such as converted cargo crates or other small structures, and he wants services attached to them to help people become self-sufficient and healthy,

Rodriguez outlined parts of his plan in a letter that also blasted Mayor Esther Sanchez for comments she made in a San Diego Uniontribune article about a homeless encampment on South Oceanside Boulevard.

The article was about Rodney Mcgough, a homeless

man who lives on the site and helps keep it clean while also trying to get mental health services to others in the encampment.

Sanchez said she appreciated the respectful way Mcgough was behaving and she said the site “looks pretty good.”

In the letter released on social media, Rodriguez said Sanchez’s comments show she is out of touch with the situation, and he accused her of “kicking the can of homelessness down the road” without providing solutions.

Sanchez said Rodriguez misunderstood her comments.

“I don’t believe anybody wants homeless camps or shelters in public places,” she said. “I also am against that.”

Rodriguez and Sanchez appear in agreement about the need to increase enforcement. Sanchez said the city can begin enforcing laws about sleeping outside once a shelter opens, and she said staff members are working on a plan to provide temporary shelter until the permanent one opens.

Staff writer Phil Diehl contributed to this report.

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com