SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Just west of the San Diego Airport, and a half a mile walk from Liberty Station, sits a former firefighter training facility. It’s known as the H Barracks, and the City wants to turn it into a temporary 700-bed shelter for the homeless.
“The encampments that are now forming slowly but surely at Liberty Station, and that’s just going to grow overnight,” said Margaret Virissimo, a Point Loma resident.
Margaret Virissimo is among more than 4,000 residents who have signed a petition against it.
“The main issues would be tourism, airport, safety, the schools, the historical landmark that’s right next door,” Virissimo said.
Virissimo is also on the Peninsula Community Planning Board which advises City Council decisions for that community. On Thursday night, Virissimo says she and other board members began drafting a list of concerns to present to council members.
“With something that could directly impact the neighborhood, you have to have those conversations up front.”
The City says the shelter would include 24-hour security, fencing, connections to public transit, and housing and mental health resources. The City wrote a statement to ABC10News which said in part:
“At our two safe sleeping sites, calls for service and complaints about encampments decreased around the sites after they opened. Likewise, neighbors who live near our safe parking sites have been very happy with the operations and now say they’re exemplary neighbors despite initial concerns. This is because unsheltered people have somewhere to go other than the sidewalk and are availing themselves of the resources offered at these facilities.
With respect to impacts on businesses and tourism, street homelessness is the worst possible situation for both, and by giving people a safe place to stay while giving them resources to end their homelessness — aka an alternative to living in unsanitary conditions on the sidewalk — we are alleviating street homelessness.
With respect to proximity to schools, H Barracks is industrial land about a 25-minute walk from the closest school and the businesses at Liberty Station. There is no reason to believe these schools and businesses will be affected by a facility offering resources and shelter to people who want to address their homelessness."
The Peninsula Community Planning Board welcomes the public’s input on this shelter at its next meeting on Thursday, November 16th at the Point Loma Library.
