El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells is firing back after his city received a stern letter from the state Attorney General’s office for sending warning notices to local motels taking part in the county homeless voucher program.
“There’s been no due process. They didn’t do an investigation. They didn’t talk to us. They cited a newspaper article to get their facts from, which I think is preposterous,” said Wells.
The El Cajon City Council on Tuesday will be discussing the county’s motel voucher program and its impact on the community. As part of the meeting, the city council will discuss the letter received from Attorney General Rob Bonta, according to Assistant City Manager David Richards.
The letter from the Attorney General was sent last Friday, demanding the city of El Cajon “immediately rescind warning notices sent to hotels participating in San Diego County’s voucher program for individuals experiencing homelessness.”
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
The letter was in response to warning notices sent on Sept. 16 to seven El Cajon motels taking part in the voucher program. The warnings accused the motels of operating unauthorized emergency shelters, and threatened fines of up to $1,000 a day.
Last Friday, the city met with motel operators, calling the meetings "productive." In what the city called “a show of good faith,” the notices were rescinded pending further discussions with motel operators.
In a press release, Richards said the meetings provided an opportunity for the motel owners to understand the city’s municipal code and concerns the city has with the county of San Diego’s concentration of homeless population within a 3-square-mile area.
Local
City officials have also expressed concern over the growing number of recent police and emergency service calls to the motels.
“Over the period of September 20-23, the El Cajon Police Department arrested 20 individuals using a county motel voucher in El Cajon or who were connected to someone using a voucher. The El Cajon Department will provide additional information about arrests in the near future,” said Richards.
But Attorney General Bonta said the City of El Cajon’s actions potentially constitute unlawful housing discrimination in violation of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.
“The city of El Cajon’s recent actions threaten to turn some of San Diego County’s most vulnerable residents out onto the street based solely on their source of income – vouchers provided by the county to cover the cost of temporary housing at local hotels,” said Bonta.
The attorney general ordered the city of El Cajon to rescind the warning notices sent to participating hotels; agree to refrain from issuing such notices in the future; publicly state that hotels will not be subjected to punishment from the city if they accept such vouchers; and order its law enforcement officers to immediately cease any unlawful harassment of hotel guests at participating hotels.
Mayor Wells has continued to insist an unfair burden is being put on El Cajon, claiming his city has just 5% of the county population, yet holds 45% of the homeless using the voucher program.
Meanwhile, County Board of Supervisors Chair, Nathan Fletcher, who’s accused Wells of trying to “blow up the voucher program,” praised the attorney general.
“I’m thankful for attorney Rob Bonta for telling El Cajon, not a chance. Not a chance are you going to violate state and federal housing laws," said Fletcher.
“I think this is the county, using their connections in Sacramento to apply pressure on a city. And I think it’s kind of ominous because frankly, if this becomes the precedent, then the county, any county in the state of California can put homeless people anywhere they want, as many people as they want,” said Wells.
On Tuesday, the county has said it will declare homelessness a public health care crisis in San Diego.
