La Mesa is supporting proposed legislation meant to expedite the clearing of homeless encampments along state highways.
When these encampments crop up under highway overpasses, the city cannot do anything about them: That land is property of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
The La Mesa City Council voted on May 27 to send a letter of support of Senate Bill 569, which would require Caltrans to develop encampment resolution plans and establish local advisory committees in each of its administrative districts. It also would allow Caltrans to contract local municipalities to remove encampments.
“The issue is that Caltrans moves very slowly,” said La Mesa Councilmember Genevieve Suzuki, who brought the matter to the council. “Even when cities are calling and asking them to remove encampments, they still takes weeks to months to respond… (The bill) makes everything easier to get the people, the homeless in those encampments help and closer to services that they really require.”
Domenic Provence, president of La Mesa Firefighters Local 4759, spoke during public comment in support of the bill. He said that he and other firefighters were not supporting a punitive approach to the encampments, but said that it was a matter of public safety.
He said that emergency responders do not hesitate to respond to emergency calls involving the encampments, but that the calls are growing more dangerous and more routine. It’s common for them to encounter human waste, used needles and other drug paraphernalia, and unsecured structures.
“In some cases, we’ve had to delay patient care and fire suppression efforts and wait for law enforcement for backup, simply to ensure the safety of our crews to enter these environments,” Provence said.
He also cautioned that many of the encampments are in areas known as wildland urban interface zones: an area where residences and businesses intermingle with wild brush and other vegetation.
“A spark from an open flame, from a warming fire or a cooking fire can quickly escalate into a full-blown brush fire,” Provence said.
The council’s eagerness to expedite encampment clearings was tempered with empathy for the needs of the people living in them.
California’s homeless population is the largest in the country, with more than 187,000 people counted in the most recent federal data. SB 569 is a response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2024 executive order that directed state agencies to adopt policies that address homeless encampments.
The bill was introduced by Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, and is is co-sponsored by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and the League of California Cities.
“The state needs to do better in preventing and removing encampments from land that the state has control over,” Blakespear said in a statement. “SB 569 establishes a state process for local governments and Caltrans to work together to more effectively clear encampments and direct the unsheltered to the shelters and services they need.”