Renderings from a California Coastal Commission permit application filed by the city of San Diego reveal that part of the H Barracks in Point Loma could have a different look if phase two of the plan comes to fruition.
From North Harbor Drive, you'd see two tents on the site, with the capacity to house 300 people in each.
The permit application is a semi-surprising revelation to Derek Falconer, director of Point Loma Cares. The organization has been fighting shelter plans at the site.
"It raises serious questions about accountability and transparency with an administration that hasn't had a great reputation engaging constituents and really getting stakeholder buy in," Falconer said.
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In April, Mayor Todd Gloria announced plans to build a 1,000-bed shelter on Kettner Boulevard and Vine Street in the Middletown area. The announcement marked a shift away from building a shelter-bed facility at the H Barracks to just making it a safe parking location.
"Safe parking I think can work here. I think the right parameters around that with the right electrical hookups and wastewater and environment concerns, I think there’s a way to make that work," Falconer said.
But now there's concern from Point Loma residents that a shelter at the H Barracks is back on the table. That's because the supplemental permit application for the 600-person shelter at H Barracks is dated about a week after the Kettner shelter announcement.
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"I don’t think it's a good idea,” said Jay, who was biking at Spanish Landing. "You know there's going to be a spillover going over here. It's going to happen."
"I don't think that's a good place,” said David Lesser, who lives in the area. “But a 1,000-bed facility in Little Italy, yes. This neighborhood, no."
A spokesperson for the city issued a statement to NBC 7 saying, “The City is focused exclusively on hosting a Safe Parking program at the site. There are no plans to move forward with sprung structures, but we included them in the application to preserve the option should it be needed."
That potential need is concerning for people in Point Loma, considering the proposed shelter’s proximity to parks and schools.
“Three thousand five hundred kids come to school every day and potentially mixing with people that may have psychotic episode or drug addiction or drugs that may come into the neighborhood is troubling for residents," Falconer said.
Any services at the site will be temporary in nature. It's slated to become the permanent home for Pure Water recycling facilities in about five years.
