Chula Vista launches five-year homelessness plan with community workshops

Chula Vista is rolling out its first strategic plan to address homelessness, a five-year roadmap aimed at expanding services, building long-term housing and gathering community feedback on how the city should tackle one of the region’s most pressing issues.

Mayor John McCann announced the plan Thursday, a day after the city reported it had been awarded an $8.61 million Homekey+ grant from the California Department of Housing and Community Development to convert the former Palomar Motel into permanent housing.

The strategic plan features a series of four public workshops scheduled for October, one in each of the city’s council districts.

“We want to give people an update on the progress we’ve been making at the city, and then we want to get input from our community on what they’re seeing and how we can do a better job and what the needs are in their specific council district,” McCann said in an interview with the Union-Tribune.

The workshops are scheduled for Oct. 6 at Norman Park Senior Center, Oct. 8 at Veterans Park Recreation Center, Oct. 15 at Loma Verde Recreation Center and Oct. 16 at Montevalle Park Recreation Center. Each will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

In recent years, Chula Vista has pursued multiple strategies to reduce homelessness. The city created a homeless outreach team, opened a 65-bed pallet shelter with wraparound services and approved a comprehensive encampment ban.

Chula Vista’s encampment ban, passed unanimously by the council in 2024, prohibits setting up tents or structures in some public areas, including near schools and bus stops. McCann said the ordinance was intended to protect neighborhoods while steering individuals toward services.

“What that does is make sure that we can protect our local businesses in our communities, and also give the opportunity for the homeless individuals to find a space where they can find housing, temporary housing, and get on a path to permanent housing,” McCann said.

In July, the City Council approved $4.55 million from its Low and Moderate Income Housing Asset Fund, including $4 million for an affordable housing development project and $250,000 for homeless prevention and landlord incentive programs.

McCann said these efforts have made a measurable difference.

“If you look at the number of homeless in our city, the Point in Time Count, we’ve actually decreased homelessness by almost 7%, and so we believe that we’re moving in the right direction,” McCann said.

He added that the Palomar Motel project, like the pallet shelter, is aimed at decreasing homelessness numbers by creating housing or shelter for individuals in need.

The project, located at 1160 Walnut Ave., will create studio apartments for very low-income residents, including 20 units for individuals, seven reserved for veterans and one for an on-site manager. McCann said operations would likely be run by a nonprofit provider.

“We will essentially build it to be permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals,” he said.