Some residents feel the rules of the homeless encampment ban are not being enforced. NBC 7’s Shellye Leggett has the story.
Homelessness is an issue you see almost everywhere you turn in San Diego. Right now, it’s illegal to camp within two blocks of schools, some parks, near waterways and along trolley tracks, but some say the rules aren’t being enforced, so they report the problem through the city’s Get It Done app.
Ashley Enloe, who lives in the East Village, said homelessness has become such a problem that she's afraid for her safety every day. She said she’s reported the issue through the app several times, but nothing seems to be getting done at all.
“The homeless encampments have gotten out of control,” Enloe said.
Enloe said the encampments have taken over her neighborhood.
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“A month ago, it wasn’t as bad, there were a couple tents and everybody would stay in those tents and pretty much kept to themselves,” Enloe said.
Enloe said tents are now set up in front of her complex, across from shelters and in walking distance to a school.
“A couple weeks ago, the city cleared out 17th Street, and I guess the folks from 17th Street moved here,” Enloe theorized.
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Enloe told NBC 7 that she reported the problem to the city.
“I have multiple reports on the ‘Get It Done’ app,” Enloe said.
The was introduced by former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer in 2016. Two years later, the city spent more than $2.3 million to upgrade the app, which allows people to request street repairs and neighborhood services faster and eliminates the need to call the city to report a problem. Plus, people can report issues anonymously.
“It’s the name of the app: Get It Done,” Enloe said.
Residents can track the status of projects in real time, and the GPS tracking links the user to city crews. Enloe showed NBC 7 screenshots of her reports.
“I open the app, make my report, [then it says] it’s done, and nothing’s done,” Enloe said.
Enloe filed seven reports in the past two weeks and each report is marked as "In Process" or "Closed."
“I’ve had a gentleman urinating on my truck while two cop cars drove by,” Enloe said. “Nothing’s really changed.”
Change will not happen without help from the city, Enloe said.
“The city, they come, they clear the trash and the tents, mark it as closed, but they’re right back," Enloe said. "The tents, the trash — within the same day or the next day. You don’t know what you’re going to walk into.”
NBC 7 reached out to the city for comment by phone and via email but has not heard back.
