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CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Residents in the South Bay came together on Tuesday night to address the ongoing homeless crisis. Residents in Chula Vista say that more unhoused people are setting up camp along Industrial Boulevard.
City Council met to discuss the issue along the street neighboring the popular Harborside Park and Harborside Elementary School along with solutions like boosting outreach services, police presence, cleanup efforts, fencing and neighborhood watch.
The city was provided three additional options to mitigate the ever-growing homeless issue. One was to adopt an unsafe camping ordinance with an estimated cost of $150,000 policy development and $400,000 enforcement from state, federal and local funding. The time frame would take six to eight months.
Another was to develop a low barrier shelter, otherwise known as a safe camping or parking site. The estimated cost would amount to $1 million at the start and $500,000 in annual operations. The time frame would also take six to eight months to implement.
Finally, another solution to take into consideration was to relocate fencing along Industrial Blvd. The cost would average out to $350,000 from local funding and would take one to three months to implement.
While no direct action was taken, City Council ultimately decided to move forward with considering the three options to tackle the issue.
Over the past few months, there has been consistent back and forth for those camping along Industrial Blvd. and the population is growing.
FOX 5 talked to one person living in an encampment who migrated to the South Bay after the passing of the City of San Diego’s controversial encampment ban.
“By the time we get set back up, we have to move again,” they said.
Last Friday, the city swiped 63 tents from Industrial Blvd. along with nearly 37,000 pounds of trash. Hours later, 17 encampments were back up.
As of Tuesday, the number of encampments has grown to 45; a trend taking its toll on local business.
“We’ve had to spend quite a bit of money for additional lighting, fencing, additional security services to reassure customers we’re doing everything we can,” said John Fischer, who co-owns a storage space in Chula Vista.
Roberto Ramirez runs Strong Base Jiu Jitsu nearby the concentrated encampment area. His lease is up at the end of the year and is considering taking his business elsewhere.
“If nothing gets done, we’re probably going to have to move out of Chula Vista,” Ramirez said.
Eight-year-old Jaden Rojas practices there and says his ride to the gym is a sight no kid should see.
“I see people like with knives. I heard people shooting guns in the air, stabbing each other, just on the way there,” Rojas said.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan also addressed the growing issue Tuesday, blaming what she calls weak state laws in desperate need of reform.
“That particular part, where they move and come back, is driven by mental health and addiction…The situation isn’t going to resolve without different laws,” Stephan explained.
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