The Encinitas City Council will hold a special meeting Wednesday, Oct. 28, to present the city's draft five-year plan for addressing homelessness and take public comment.

The 4 p.m. session at City Hall, 505 South Vulcan Ave., is devoted to a single agenda item: an update on the draft 2026-2031 Homeless Action Plan, or HAP. The council's recommended action is to receive the update and provide input, according to the meeting notice posted Oct. 21. Homeless Programs Coordinator Crystal Pugh and a department manager identified as Anders are listed as contact staff.

The plan arrives after a turbulent stretch of homelessness policy decisions by the council majority that took office in January 2024.

Shelter shift to National City

The council recently approved an amended agreement with the San Diego Rescue Mission to reserve 12 beds at the South County Lighthouse shelter in National City. The beds replace capacity Encinitas previously held at the Buena Creek Navigation Center in Vista. The city's Council Rundown described the arrangement as temporary while the Rescue Mission seeks a new North County location.

The move cut projected costs. Staff compared the Buena Creek beds at $715,000 a year with the Rescue Mission arrangement at roughly $381,000, according to the Council Rundown. inewsource reported the city will spend up to about $380,000 a year, depending on how many beds are filled. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported a lower figure of $318,000 when the council first directed staff to draft the contract in September. Pugh told the Union-Tribune that Encinitas pays only for occupied beds under the new deal, unlike the flat rate at Buena Creek.

The National City arrangement drew sharp pushback. National City Councilmember Jose Rodriguez attended an Encinitas meeting to object and was removed from the session, inewsource reported. Encinitas councilmembers said the deal was temporary and accused Rodriguez of using their meeting to campaign for mayor.

Rejected grant and tougher enforcement

In June, the council voted 4-1, with Councilmember Joy Lyndes opposed, not to apply for a nearly $4 million state grant aimed at resolving homeless encampments. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Councilmember Jim O'Hara argued the state's Housing First approach had failed. Mayor Bruce Ehlers said he did not trust the state housing department and was willing to spend city money instead.

"Just because someone wants to give us money doesn't mean it aligns with what we're doing," O'Hara said, as the Union-Tribune reported in June.

In December 2025, the council voted unanimously to expand its ban on camping in public, inewsource reported. The city's safe parking program, run by Jewish Family Service since 2020, also ended after officials could not agree on funding. That program had provided 25 spots at the Community and Senior Center for people sleeping in their vehicles.

What's not yet public

The draft plan itself has not been released. The agenda confirms only that the item is a draft update. The specific goals, strategies and budget priorities remain unknown ahead of the meeting.

Encinitas reported 100 unhoused residents in its latest Point-in-Time Count, according to inewsource.

How to participate

The special meeting begins at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 505 South Vulcan Ave. Residents who want to present digital materials must email them to [email protected] at least two hours beforehand. The session will air live on Channel 19 (Cox), Channel 24 (Spectrum) and Channel 99 (AT&T U-Verse) and will be archived at encinitasca.gov.