Following San Diego’s lead, Chula Vista Mayor John McCann announced Tuesday that the city is in discussion with the California Department of Transportation to speed up the process to address homeless encampments on the transportation agency’s land.
The city has begun working to allow the Chula Vista Homeless Outreach Team to clean up encampments on freeway ramps in the South Bay city – a task previously allowed only by Caltrans crews, with a few exceptions.
“Homeless encampments along our freeways are eyesores, unsanitary, and invite criminal activity,” McCann said. “City staff started working on an agreement with Caltrans to allow and streamline the process to get approval to address encampments on state-owned property.”
McCann said he met with Caltrans District 11 Director Ann Fox to discuss the process to improve the collaboration between the city and state agency.
Last month, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria signed an agreement with Caltrans for a one-year pilot program to allow city crews and law enforcement to enter Caltrans land along a five-mile stretch of state freeways that run through Little Italy, downtown, Sherman Heights, East Village and Barrio Logan to clear “unsafe and unsanitary homeless encampments,” according to a city statement.
“The homeless encampments along our freeways are not only unsightly, but they are unsafe. After months of negotiations, I am excited to see this innovative partnership come to fruition,” Gloria said. “This agreement will allow the city to have access to Caltrans property in and around downtown to clean up encampments and assist those living there get into a better situation.”
In his 2025 State of the City address, Gloria said it was time for the city to get a fair deal from entities such as the county and Caltrans when it comes to homelessness. He said the city has far too long shouldered the burden of homeless residents suffering from substance abuse and/or mental health issues.
“As San Diegans, we can agree that we want people to be safe, housed and not living along state highways,” Fox said. “The city of San Diego, and other cities throughout San Diego County, have been great partners in the work Caltrans does every day to address encampments along state highways. This agreement is an example of the close work Caltrans does with cities to remove encampments and support local partners in getting people access to shelters and assistance.”
The San Diego agreement announced in July allows city outreach workers to go onto state property to offer available shelter and housing resources to people in encampments and authorizes the city to the clear trash and debris.
“By cutting red tape and letting local cities use their processes, we can speed up our response to homeless encampments and more quickly move unsheltered people to safer places where they can get the support they need,” said Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas.
“Encampments along roadsides are dangerous and destructive — they are unsafe for people living there and for motorists, and they create fire risk, trash and often damage to transportation infrastructure.
“This agreement is an important step as we work to create more urgency, and greater inter-government coordination, to address the unsheltered street homelessness crisis.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
