Encinitas approves sending its homeless to South Bay after heated exchange with National City councilmember

A National City councilmember and mayoral candidate visited Encinitas to urge city leaders to abandon a plan to send its unhoused residents to a shelter in his city.

The meeting ended with a deputy escorting Jose Rodriguez out of council chambers when he attempted to respond to an accusation that he had appeared at the meeting not to make his plea about Encinitas’ homeless, but as an opportunity to boost his campaign.

Rodriguez appeared at Wednesday’s hearing to oppose a $369,000 agreement between the city of Encinitas and the San Diego Rescue Mission to reserve 12 shelter beds at its National City facility for unhoused people from Encinitas.

In a prepared statement to the Encinitas City Council, Rodriguez, following an apology for breaking what he said was an “unwritten rule” in appearing at an outside jurisdiction’s council meeting, said the city of Encinitas should not be shipping its unhoused residents 30 miles away to another city.

“Please do your fair share before asking National City to do more of ours,” said Rodriguez during public comment. “Encinitas has one of the highest median household incomes in San Diego County at about $151,000. Meanwhile, National City has the lowest at around $67,000.”

Rodriguez criticized Encinitas’ elected officials for failing to provide homeless services and for leaning on other cities and social services based in those jurisdictions to make up for it.

“Encinitas let its safe parking program close at the end of 2025 after offering only a six-month extension,” said Rodriguez. “On June 24th, you voted 4-1 to not apply for a $3.9 million state grant that would have served about 100 people.”

The grant, from the state’s Encampment Resolution Fund, also would have housed 20 people and helped the city to clear encampments.

The council majority rejected pursuit of the grant due to its housing-first approach, rather than dealing with mental health and substance abuse issues first.

In his comments, Rodriguez called the council’s actions – not applying for the grant and ending the safe parking program in favor of shipping unsheltered people miles away – a moral issue.

“It’s wrong for multiple reasons,” he said. “It’s wrong on equity issues. It’s wrong, I think, morally, because I don’t think individuals that are currently experiencing homelessness want to be anywhere else other than the community that they’re in.”

Encinitas Mayor Bruce Ehlers and the council did not take Rodriguez’s appearance lightly, bashing the South Bay elected official. They accused him of misstating the facts and using their meeting as political theater to draw attention to his mayoral campaign.

Ehlers told Rodriguez that the city has a shelter for battered women and that the agreement with the rescue mission’s South Bay Lighthouse facility is only temporary. Ehlers also reiterated his opposition to housing-first programs.

“The grant you spoke of that we did not apply for was a housing-first mandated grant, which means you take the problem, you put it in a house, and you let them continue doing drugs,” said Ehlers. “If you look at the research, the mortality rate in that housing is equal to what the people experience on the street. That’s not compassionate. We need to get the problem solved, and the problem is basically substance abuse.”

Ehlers, as well as others on the council, said the agreement was between the city of Encinitas and the mission, not with National City. Ehlers defended the council’s work on homelessness, stating that the city saw a near 30% drop in homelessness last year.

Some on the council then accused Rodriguez of turning the issue into a campaign platform.

“For somebody coming in here and campaigning in our city, I think that’s pretty atrocious,” said Encinitas councilmember Luke Shaffer.

In response to the comments, Rodriguez made his way back to the podium and tried to respond. Ehlers then instructed a Sheriff’s deputy to escort Rodriguez out of the room.

The five-member council then voted unanimously to enter into the contract with the San Diego Rescue Mission.

In a follow-up email, Rodriguez told Times of San Diego that he was disappointed with the city’s decision and said Encinitas officials should have been in contact with National City even if the homeless contract was with a nonprofit and not the city itself.

“If Encinitas plans on sending people experiencing homelessness 30 miles south to a city without any connection, they have the responsibility to call that city. Full stop.”