SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The City of San Diego has reached an agreement with the state of California to continue removing homeless encampments on state-owned land near freeways.
The agreement comes a year after the city entered into a pilot program with the California Department of Transportation that allowed city crews to clear encampments near highways along a five-mile stretch passing through downtown San Diego, Sherman Heights and Barrio Logan.
On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he signed "continued new partnerships" with San Diego, as well as the cities of Ontario and San Bernardino. Similar agreements are already in place in 10 other cities across the state.
The Encampment Delegated Maintenance Agreements, which Newsom's office said would focus on "encampments that threaten public health and safety," will also have the state reimbursing some of the costs cities incur for encampment removals. Other tasks that fall under the agreements include litter and debris collection, vegetation management, and graffiti abatement.
"Keeping our freeway corridors safe and clean while helping people move off the streets and into shelter is a top priority for my administration," San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said in a statement. "I'm grateful to Governor Newsom for his support and to our partners at Caltrans for renewing this agreement so we can continue this important work together, build on the progress we've made, connect more people experiencing homelessness with shelter and services, and deliver safer, cleaner freeway corridors for everyone who lives, works, and travels through San Diego."
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