SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The San Diego City Council meeting stretched late into the night Monday, as councilmembers motioned to table discussions about Mayor Todd Gloria's lease for a 1,000-bed shelter at least for another week.
They say the decision was made so more financial analysis can be reviewed. This is a project that has gotten a significant amount of pushback from neighbors in Little Italy and Mission Hills. ABC 10News reporter Spencer Soicher shares why some locals say they don't want the shelter in their neighborhood.
The mega shelter with 1,000 beds at Kettner and Vine, the edge of Little Italy, is Mayor Todd Gloria's vision. And while the mayor's team is calling the project "Hope at Vine," some neighbors and even councilmembers want it dead on the vine.
"It feels like we are relying more on hope more than a reality-based estimate," Council President Sean Elo-Rivera said.
Monday's meeting came with three hours of public comment, which added to countless protests over the past several months. Still, the mayor stuck with his plan.
"We have been dealing with this issue for decades. It is time to make a permanent and lasting commitment to addressing this challenge," Gloria said.
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Neighbors in Little Italy and Mission Hills expressed their discontent about the mega shelter. Their complaints centered around the sheer size of the shelter in their neighborhood and what the city agreed to pay for this site.
Even people who have previously lived in shelters spoke out against it during Monday's meeting.
"It only takes a few bad roommates to make it bad for everyone. I feel especially afraid for anyone who will be forced to live in this overly dense mass shelter," a public commenter at the meeting said.
The city had already agreed to a deal with a developer to buy the empty warehouse at the intersection of Kettner and Vine streets.
But the deal is tentative, based on the city council's vote Monday.
"There is huge risk in banking on blind hope," Elo-Rivera said.
Discussion on this project may continue during the council's next meeting on July 30.
In a statement following the meeting, Gloria said he and his team are considering the feedback they were presented with during.
"My administration is happy to continue refining the current proposal, but councilmembers must provide specific negotiating points, which I am immediately requesting from them," the statement said.
CONTINUING COVERAGE:
- San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria announces plan to convert warehouse into 1,000-bed homeless shelter
- San Diego in negotiations over largest-ever homeless shelter
- Homeless advocates, non-profits weigh in on proposed 1,000-bed homeless shelter
- Protesters rally against proposed mega shelter
- Local residents, community activist oppose Mayor Gloria's latest homeless shelter plan
