National City is one of the latest cities considering a crackdown on homelessness that could make it illegal for people to sleep or set up tents on the street.
Two top city officials said staff are working on drafting a possible encampment law based on the controversial ban adopted last year by the city of San Diego. They both blamed rising numbers of unsheltered people being pushed into National City from San Diego.
“We're going to get caught right in the middle,” said Mayor Ron Morrison. “That's kind of what has brought us to this point.”
If National City passes a ban, it would join the growing patchwork of cities that have criminalized homeless encampments on sidewalks and other public property in an effort to force more unhoused people to move into shelters or treatment facilities.
As the number of people experiencing homelessness has continued to grow across California, driven largely by rising rents and home prices, many elected officials throughout the state have taken a harsher approach to homelessness.
San Diego’s encampment law is one of the most sweeping examples. The city of Poway has also passed a similar ban, and others like Chula Vista and El Cajon have debated following suit.
Other cities like Sacramento, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz and Oakland have also taken steps to criminalize people living on the street. State legislators from San Diego and Encinitas have also introduced a law that would ban encampments statewide.
It’s still not clear how effective these laws are at actually reducing homelessness, and many advocates also say they are overly cruel to unhoused people. In 2018, a federal court ruled that encampment sweeps violate residents’ civil rights if they have nowhere else to go. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to revisit that ruling next month.
Still, several researchers and advocates who work with the unhoused community said they were not surprised to hear that National City was considering a ban of its own.
“All cities in San Diego County, they're all at certain different levels exploring these camping bans,” said Rosy Vasquez, CEO and founder of Community Through Hope, which has been one of the South Bay’s largest homelessness providers. “I do hope ... that each city really look to its own issue. Look to its own size, look through a trauma-informed lens, and at least try and design its own unique policies.”
Last month, a city analysis of LA’s encampment law, first reported by LAist, found that the ordinance failed to effectively keep encampments cleared and reduce homelessness.
San Diego’s ban has only been in place since July 2023, so its long-term effects are still unclear. But some advocates say the law has already upended the lives of many unhoused residents across the city, causing many to lose touch with friends and outreach workers amid the confusion.
Mayor Morrison said that’s something he would want to avoid in National City.
“We can't be overly aggressive and just bulldozing people and their belongings,” he said. “At the same time, we can't sit back and just say, ‘hey, that's the way they want it, so therefore, we allow it to happen.’”
Some of Morrison’s colleagues were even more skeptical about the idea of a local encampment ban. Councilmember Marcus Bush said he would need more specific information about a proposed ordinance.
“At the end of the day, banning encampments is doing little to nothing to solve the root causes of homelessness,” Bush wrote over email. “I would also need to hear more about the benefits, drawbacks, costs, and impacts of the San Diego camping ban before I make decisions on anything similar being proposed.”
Councilmembers Luz Molina, Jose Rodriguez and Ditas Yamane did not respond to a request for comment.
National City’s decision to explore an ordinance also comes as San Diego Rescue Mission is set to open the city’s first homeless shelter later this year. The planned shelter would serve 162 people and would aim to connect residents with support services.
Morrison said a draft could come before the City Council as soon as early April.
