More state funding secured to address people living in encampments

On Tuesday, City Council accepted $5.3 million in grant funding as part of a $11.4 million joint project with the City of Oceanside to address encampments along State Route 78. The funding comes from the state’s Encampment Resolution Funding Program.

The goal of the grant is not just to clean up encampments; it’s to transition people living in encampments into stable housing. Over the next three years, the cities will use the majority of the funds to work with groups and organizations that provide services to people experiencing homelessness. Here’s how the funding will be allocated (with the remainder used for city costs):

The city previously received a $2.3 million three-year grant from the same program focused on other parts of Carlsbad. During the first six months of that grant, 13 individuals and families have been transitioned into temporary housing and 15 have been transitioned into permanent housing.

Camping bans and other laws

A recent Supreme Court ruling and Executive Order issued by the Governor have raised questions about how Carlsbad approaches clearing encampments and other issues related to homelessness. On Tuesday, city staff provided the City Council with an overview of these recent changes and what they mean for Carlsbad.

• Long story short, our approach is already in line with the Governor’s Executive Order.
• The Supreme Court ruling allows us to remove the requirement to offer shelter before issuing a citation for camping on public property.

If you’d like more details, read on …

Carlsbad-specific bans
In 2021, as part of our homeless response plan, the City Council made several changes to the Carlsbad Municipal Code (a collection of city-specific laws):

Prohibited in Carlsbad

• Unlawful camping on public and private property
• Fires and cooking on public property
• Storage of personal property in public places
• Solicitation
• Trespassing
• Obstruction of property
• Disorderly conduct Possessing or consuming open containers of alcohol in certain public places

These restrictions, coupled with the services we have in place to help move people out of homelessness, are designed to focus on long-term solutions while addressing community impacts. Here is a video that explains our approach.

Given the complexity of the issues related to homelessness, it’s difficult to summarize, so I encourage you to read the staff report or watch the meeting video for more information.

Next steps

• The Housing Commission will hold a meeting to discuss the Supreme Court decision, Governor’s Executive Order and several options the City Council could consider if it wanted to add or change anything in the city’s five-year plan to address homelessness.
• This will also be an opportunity for the public to weigh in.
• Staff will then return to the City Council with the Housing Commission’s feedback and public input received.
• No dates have been set for these meetings, but if you’d like to be notified, sign up for our email list about issues related to homelessness in Carlsbad.