A deadline to apply for a nearly $4 million state grant to house Encinitas’ homeless people in stable housing passed, and Encinitas leaders decided not to apply.
The grant is part of a program called the Encampment Resolution Fund, which provides money to cities to specifically relocate unsheltered homeless people to full-service shelters.
The state has awarded four rounds of grants so far, including $11.4 million to Oceanside and Carlsbad in 2024. The two cities are working together to implement their project but have seen positive results so far, as I previously reported.
At an Encinitas City Council meeting last week, most council members expressed no interest in applying for the grant. Some said it would be conditional and follow a model the city fundamentally disagrees with: “Housing First.”
Housing First is the nationwide model for caring for homeless people. The priority is to quickly place people in permanent housing without conditions such as sobriety or program participation.
Critics of Housing First see substance abuse and mental illness as underlying problems for most homeless people and believe people should be required to undergo treatment before receiving housing assistance.
“Housing First has failed miserably in this state,” said Councilman Jim O’Hara. “Just because someone wants to give us money doesn’t mean it’s consistent with what we do.”
However: The latest round of funding is intended to be more flexible than previous rounds, which strictly followed the Housing First model.
In this round, cities can “provide unhoused residents with the necessary supportive services to initially stabilize them and do not require immediate placement in permanent housing,” a city staff report said.
A representative from the San Diego Rescue Mission, with which the city contracted last year, also encouraged city leaders to apply for the grant, saying the Rescue Mission had used the program before and had no problems with the state.
Still, city leaders disagreed and voted 4-1 (Councilmember Joy Lyndes opposed) to instruct city employees not to apply for the grant. It’s the latest example of Encinitas leaders rejecting state initiatives and policies in favor of their own approach.
The majority of the City Council vehemently opposes the state’s housing laws, which are implemented by the California Housing Authority (HCD). It is the same agency that oversees these homeless grants and, according to council members, ensures that the entire grant and its requirements are untrustworthy.
Most Encinitas residents agree with city leaders: There were several public speakers who commented on the grant application, and almost all of them urged city leaders not to apply.
Speakers cited a lack of trust in the state housing authority and Sacramento in general. One speaker warned that if the city does more to help the homeless, demand could only increase and make the problem worse. Another speaker suggested that Encinitas should focus on Encinitas.
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It was successful in other cities
City of Oceanside management analyst Sofia Hughes looks at the site of a former large homeless encampment that has been transformed into a beautiful meadow after housing was found for its residents, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Oceanside. /Vito Di Stefano for Voice of San Diego
I have written twice before about the progress Oceanside and Carlsbad are making with their homeless populations through the use of this federal grant.
Sofia Hughes, a management analyst at Oceanside, told me via email that the experiment has continued to produce positive results since I last wrote about it in January of this year.
“So far, we have permanently housed about 80 people and expect to house another 30 people by fall 2026,” she said. “Since many of our customers in the first zone have now exceeded the one-year mark in finding an apartment, we are pleased to be able to report an apartment retention rate of over 90 percent.”
The project area is divided into zones or work areas. The city administration has so far completed three zones and is working on the fourth.
“The uptake of our services from our customers continues to be very high, highlighting the need for programs like this to continue to be funded,” Hughes said.
So far, Oceanside and Carlsbad have spent about $5.9 million, or about 69 percent of the $11.4 million grant.
Hughes told me that Oceanside, working with the city of Vista, submitted a new application for the next round of grant funding. The goal is to use a similar approach and achieve similar positive results.
Related: In recent months, the Encinitas Council has made its response to homelessness more rigorous and enforceable.
City leaders have tightened rules on public campgrounds, contracted with a new homeless relief organization (the San Diego Rescue Mission), and added an enforcement element to their homeless action plan.
You can read more about Encinitas’ recent homeless policy change in this question and answer session I conducted with Mayor Bruce Ehlers.
Meet the Beat Is Next Week
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In other news
- ICYMI: The federal government recently released a plan to help Oceanside’s disappearing beaches, 73 years after admitting blame. Meanwhile, Oceanside leaders, tired of waiting for government help, took matters into their own hands. (San Diego voice)
- The criminal case against Encinitas Councilman Luke Shaffer, who was originally accused of attacking a resident during a parking dispute, was dismissed Wednesday after a judge ruled that Shaffer had completed a misdemeanor diversion program. (Union Tribune) Related: Read about Shaffer’s case here.
- Many Escondido residents are criticizing the possible construction of an ice rink at Kit Carson Park and are calling on city leaders to save the popular park and build the rink elsewhere. (Coastal News)
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https://voiceofsandiego.org/2026/07/01/encinitas-passes-on-money-to-house-homeless/
