Vista will start enforcing a camping ban established more than 50 years ago, becoming the latest city to crack down on homeless encampments.
Four Vista City Council members, including Mayor John Franklin, voted in favor of enforcing the 1968 ban, and one abstained. Enforcement was paused during the pandemic.
Homeless advocate Holly Herring told the Council that Vista does not have enough supportive services for people experiencing homelessness to start enforcing the ban again.
“Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should necessarily sweep encampments and start enforcement without having a robust housing, offering supportive housing, permanent options," she said. "So that’s ultimately why I’m still against the bans.”
Vista recently opened its first homeless shelter in March. It's a 48-bed center under a shared multi-agency agreement with Encinitas, where 75% of the beds are set aside for Vista residents and 25% for Encinitas.
Franklin, who added the item to the agenda, said this is about safety for both the public and people experiencing homelessness.
“Aubrey, whom I talked to today described being repeatedly raped in the encampments. Who stands up for her?" he said. "She wanted everybody to know that she didn't volunteer to be raped, but that it was a way of life in the encampment. Nobody should live being raped daily, and that is the circumstance for nearly every woman that lives in the encampments.”
Franklin said law enforcement officers won’t clear encampments or ticket people without offering shelter first.
Imelda Huerta, Vista's assistant city manager, said a 72-hour notice will be posted before clearing encampments unless the camp poses a health or safety risk or is blocking access.
"There were some individuals who had belongings in the middle of the street or blocking the sidewalk. There were individuals lying in the street," she said. "So that would be a health and safety risk and also blocking access."
Councilmember Corinna Contreras, the lone abstaining vote, was concerned that enforcement would hamper outreach to the vulnerable community.
"We're going to kid ourselves if we think that this is actually going to resolve ... the chronic homelessness," she said. "And I'm also so afraid that the progress that we have made in outreach, in the successes that we've seen, could be in jeopardy because of something like this."
According to the latest Point-in-Time Count, Vista’s homeless population nearly doubled from 88 in 2023 to 170 in 2024.
