SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Basic Bar and Pizza and its general manager Erik Tesmer have been in East Village for 20 years.
“We’ve seen the transition from, you know, just a handful of people in this area to kind of an overwhelming number of people camping out in the street and blocking the walkways. It’s been a real challenge,” Tesmer said.
Homeless encampments were the focus of the City of San Diego’s just-passed Unsafe Camping Ordinance, which bans encampments in all public spaces if shelter beds are available.
The San Diego County Lodging Association voiced their support of the ban and for those who work in the hospitality industry prior to Tuesday’s City Council approval.
Robert Gleason, the chair of the San Diego County Lodging Association, said hospitality workers “every day, are dealing with folks in and around the hotels; sometimes being assaulted, having to clean up human waste and being terrified on behalf of their own safety and the safety of our guests.”
If there are no shelter beds, camps are still banned near schools and transit centers.
It’s something that has Tesmer torn on both sides of the issue.
“You know, I'm torn both ways. I definitely would love to see the streets open where people can walk around. I definitely see a lot of the business kind of going away because people are afraid to come downtown because of the camps. But I understand; they don’t have a lot of places to go and it would be nice to have a place for them,” Tesmer said.
Per Mayor Todd Gloria’s office, the ordinance will go into effect 30 days after the opening of the safe sleeping site located at 20th Street and B Street. The mayor’s office told ABC 10News the safe sleeping site at 20th and B is expected to be open July 1.
The Unsafe Camping Ordinance is expected to take effect on July 30.
Until then, some homeless advocacy groups like Alpha Project For the Homeless have some concerns when it comes to resources that are available.
“As it stands right now, it doesn’t seem like the resources are there yet. They’ve been identified, but we know it can take time to put those sites up. We also look forward to being included in the stargazing of those sites,” said Sofia Cardenas with the Alpha Project.
