San Diego’s Unsafe Camping Ordinance Shows Early Reductions in Street Homelessness Amid Ongoing Capacity Strains

Effective July 2023, San Diego’s Unsafe Camping Ordinance bans encampments on public property when shelter is available and prohibits them in schools, waterways and other protected zones. The law requires a 24-hour notice before sweeps, obligates police to offer shelter referrals before issuing citations, and tasks the Environmental Services Department with removing debris while attempting to save non-hazardous personal items. Police conduct “progressive enforcement,” ticketing only after repeated refusals of services.

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The city auditor’s first review of the ordinance reports a decline in visible homelessness. People counted in public areas fell from 3,028 in 2023 to 2,510 in 2025. Downtown’s median unsheltered count dropped from 1,721 to 850 over the same period. City-wide unsheltered totals decreased from 3,285 to 3,132, while safe-sleeping sites housed 565 individuals and the safe-parking program served 279. Police encounters with unsheltered persons rose to 6,700 in 2025 (from 5,500), but citation rates fell from 34 % to 30 % of encounters. Shelter capacity remains tight: the city funds roughly 2,600 spaces across shelters, safe-sleeping, and safe-parking programs, with occupancy climbing from 77 % to 95 % in 2025.

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Auditor Andy Hanau concluded the ordinance “highlights meaningful progress” in reducing downtown encampments and accelerating police and Environmental Services response times. Mayor Todd Gloria echoed the audit, noting restored sidewalk access for children and people with disabilities and emphasizing the ordinance’s “more consistent and timelier framework.” Police Capt. Stephen Shebloski stressed that the goal is not to criminalize homelessness, and the department logged over 24,000 shelter referrals in 2025, up from 16,000 the prior year.

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Deacon Jim Vargas of Father Joe’s Villages warned that sweeps displace clients, making street-medicine outreach harder: “Moving people around is not the answer.” Homeless advocates also argue that the decline is modest and that many displaced individuals simply relocate outside downtown, a shift the audit acknowledges.

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While city data show reductions, the county Point-in-Time Count reveals mixed outcomes: overall homelessness fell 1 % (9,905 -> 9,803), yet unsheltered seniors rose from 29 % to 33 % of the unsheltered population, and cities such as Oceanside and Carlsbad recorded increases in street counts. The audit notes that most shelter referrals cannot be fulfilled due to limited space, creating a persistent bottleneck.

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The audit advises the Environmental Services Department to formalize its item-retention list and to issue multilingual retrieval notices. City officials acknowledge the need for additional shelter beds and warn that future federal HUD funding remains uncertain. Expanding safe-sleeping sites and addressing the senior-homelessness surge are identified as priority actions.

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• “The heart of the issue is that they need assistance in various ways.” — Jim Vargas, CEO, Father Joe’s Villages

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• “It’s never our goal to criminalize homelessness,” — Stephen Shebloski, Capt., Neighborhood Policing

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• “Before the ordinance took effect, several areas across the City were so heavily impacted by encampments that entire stretches of sidewalk became inaccessible to children and people with disabilities,” — Todd Gloria, Mayor of San Diego

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• “Coopersmith has said his department saves items that don’t pose a public health hazard and that are irreplaceable, personally identifiable or sentimental.” — Franklin Coopersmith, Deputy Director, Environmental Services

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• “This is what progress looks like,” — Tamera Kohler, CEO, Regional Task Force on Homelessness

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*The article synthesizes audit findings, city statements, and independent counts to present a balanced view of the ordinance’s early impact.*

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