As we wrap up the month of September, the city has had a busy week, with lots to share on actions and next steps to address homelessness, manage growth, create new City Council district maps and more.
Let’s get into the details…
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COVID-19 update
The county is now encouraging eligible San Diegans to get a Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot six months after being fully vaccinated. The following groups should receive a third dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine:
- People age 65 and older
- Residents age 18 and older in long-term care settings
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People 50 - 64 years old with underlying medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and compromised immune systems
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the following groups may receive a Pfizer booster shot based on their personal benefits and risks:
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People 18 - 49 years old with underlying medical conditions
- People 18 - 64 years old who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional settings, such as first responders, grocery store workers, etc.
The county is recommending San Diegans in the above categories talk to their health care provider about whether getting a Pfizer booster shot is appropriate for them. However, a physician’s referral is not required to get the booster shot.
Currently, only Pfizer vaccine booster shots have received full FDA approval, but Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are expected to be approved in the next few months. Pfizer shots for children between 5 and 11 years old are also expected to be approved soon.
You can visit MyTurn to make an appointment or find a walk-in clinic that is offering the Pfizer vaccine booster shot or other COVID-19 vaccines. You can also find a complete list of locations at coronavirus-sd.com.
Countywide, new cases are continuing their downward trend (remember, deaths tend to trail new cases by several weeks). Here in Carlsbad, active cases are holding at the same number as last week. Please continue to help us slow the spread so we can get back on track with lowering our case numbers.
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Updated laws, new emergency shelter options address homelessness
The City Council took actions Tuesday that will address public safety and quality-of-life concerns related to homelessness and public spaces, while pursuing two new long-term solutions:
- Working with Carlsbad’s existing homeless shelter to support their efforts to expand capacity accommodating women and families.
- Exploring how to utilize new state funding through a program called Project Homekey to purchase and rehabilitate housing, including hotels, motels, vacant apartment buildings and other buildings, and convert them into interim or permanent housing.
Updated laws
As you may know, changes in state law and recent court decisions have reduced the Police Department’s ability to enforce several laws and have limited law enforcement’s mechanisms for curbing certain conduct. For example, police cannot cite someone experiencing homelessness for illegal camping on public property unless:
- Temporary shelter is offered and refused by the individual OR
- A city’s laws are tailored to limit the times and locations that such conduct is prohibited.
The City Council introduced an ordinance Tuesday that updates the city’s municipal code language and adds two new chapters to be consistent with all applicable laws. The changes include:
- Amending the city’s existing camping laws to prohibit camping on public, private and open space property.
- Requiring that a person be offered and refuse temporary shelter prior to being cited for camping on public property.
- Amending the city’s existing camping laws to prohibit storing or leaving personal property unattended in public areas during certain times of the day.
- A new law that prohibits fires and cooking on public property unless in authorized areas.
- Clarifying and adding to the city’s existing prohibition on solicitation to persons in vehicles, including regulating aggressive solicitation.
- Expanding and adding city laws that prohibit obstruction of property, trespassing and disorderly conduct.
- Adding Holiday Park and Pine Avenue Community Park to the list of areas where open containers of alcohol are prohibited (with some exceptions).
- All the above offenses would be chargeable as a misdemeanor, although police officers would continue to use their discretion to issue warnings and citations instead of making misdemeanor arrests.
The City Council is scheduled to adopt the ordinance at its next City Council meeting, Oct. 12, and the changes would go into effect 30 days after that.
Providing emergency shelter options
City staff also provided an update on efforts to develop a hotel voucher program. The pilot program was intended to provide people experiencing homelessness with a stable, safe place to stay while receiving services to help them transition to permanent housing.
Staff relayed three main challenges in creating the voucher program as it was originally designed:
- As hotel business picked up over the summer, when COVID restrictions were lifted, only one hotel expressed interest in participating.
- Given the potential length of stay and services provided onsite, a hotel site’s use would be considered an emergency shelter, which is only permitted in two zones in the city. As a result, only seven hotels were eligible for the program. All seven hotels declined to participate.
- When the city sought community input, several concerns came up about a voucher program being compatible with surrounding neighborhoods.
Due to these challenges, the city did not move forward with an extended-stay voucher program.
Instead, the City Council decided to implement an alternate 12-month pilot program that would enable the city to offer a one-night hotel voucher to someone experiencing homelessness, on a case-by-case basis. This approach will allow the city to enforce no camping laws for those who do not want to participate in the emergency hotel voucher program. Those who do participate will be connected to services the following morning, through the city’s Homeless Outreach Team and contracted social workers.
You can find more information on the actions the City Council took this week to address homelessness on our website here.
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Community will help develop city’s new growth management plan
For the past 35 years, the City of Carlsbad has followed a community-based plan to manage growth in a way that protects Carlsbad’s excellent quality of life and safeguards the city’s financial health. Today, as the city transitions into a time when most of the major planned new development is complete, the community will once again play a major role in deciding how to ensure quality services, amenities and facilities are provided for the next 30 years and beyond.
In March 2021, the City Council made the creation of a new growth management plan one of its top three priorities. On Tuesday, the City Council approved the formation of a citizens committee that will provide recommendations on a framework for a new plan to guide how the city will manage growth moving forward, now that the state has passed new legislation that greatly reduces the ability of cities to choose when and how new housing is approved. The state has also said that the city’s voter approved housing caps included in the city’s current Growth Management Program are no longer enforceable, due to the critical shortage of housing in California.
Carlsbad’s Growth Management Plan is a comprehensive plan to ensure Carlsbad’s quality of life is maintained as the city grows and that the public infrastructure needed to support new development is provided for concurrent with the new development.
Learn more about how the citizens committee will be formed and the key elements involved in Carlsbad’s growth management plan that the citizens committee will look at. The city will announce the application process for City Council appointments to the committee in the coming weeks.
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Learn how to make City Council district maps
In a few weeks, the city will host two virtual workshops where residents can learn how to create new City Council district maps to reflect the population changes from the latest census. Carlsbad is required to update its City Council district boundaries so that each district has about the same number of people.
The workshops will be held Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021, at
Both will cover the same information. The city’s demographer from National Demographics Corp. will go over map requirements and the tools available for creating your own district maps.
You can learn more about the city’s redistricting process and sign up to receive updates at www.carlsbadca.gov/districts or by texting “districts” to 797979.
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Apply now to serve on these city commissions
If you’re looking for a way to support your community and help provide guidance to the City Council on key projects and programs, serving on a city commission is a great way to do it. We’re currently seeking Carlsbad residents to fill vacancies on the Senior Commission and Traffic & Mobility Commission. The application process is simple and the deadlines are approaching quickly.
You can learn more about our Boards, Commissions & Committees here.
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Carlsbad restaurant gets Michelin star
Carlsbad’s reputation as a city with a diverse, vibrant restaurant scene got a big boost this week when Jeune et Jolie, a French bistro on State Street, was awarded a coveted Michelin star. It’s the first Michelin-starred restaurant in the city and one of only four in the county. The Michelin Guide also recently honored Campfire – another State Street restaurant developed by the same creative team – with its Bib Gourmand designation. Congratulations all around!
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Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 3-9
The Carlsbad Fire Department is partnering with the National Fire Protection Association to promote this year’s Fire Prevention Week. The theme is “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety.” Knowing the differences between a beep or a chirp coming from your smoke or carbon monoxide detector can save you, your home and your family.
- A continuous set of three loud beeps means smoke or fire. Get out, call 9-1-1 and stay out.
- A single chirp every 30 or 60 seconds means the battery is low and must be changed.
- Chirping that continues after the battery has been replaced means the alarm is at the end of its life and the unit must be replaced.
Stay tuned to our social media accounts next week for videos and more safety tips from our fire prevention team.
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Clean Air Day challenge
Clean air is essential to the health of our community and environment here in Carlsbad. In honor of California Clean Air Day on Oct. 6, we encourage you to take a pledge to do at least one of the following actions that help create clean air:
- Buy produce locally
- Change or clean your home air filter
- Plant a home garden
- Reduce your car emissions by walking or biking to the store
- Make all online purchases in one order each week
At the city level, we’re committed to doing our part to reduce air pollution, too. We created a Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote a sustainable environment and developed a Transportation Demand Management program to focus on sustainable transportation options, including walking, biking, riding public transit and carpooling.
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City meetings to remain virtual through Oct. 28
With COVID case rates still elevated in the region, the City Council decided Tuesday that city meetings will continue to be held virtually through Oct. 28. New state guidelines require government bodies meeting virtually to revisit the issue every 30 days, so the City Council will make a new determination in late October based on the latest information available. In the meantime, learn more about how to comment during virtual meetings.
Get involved: Upcoming Meetings
There is no City Council meeting next week; the next one is happening Oct. 12. However, this city meeting is coming up soon:
- Oct. 4, 4 p.m. – Traffic and Mobility Commission
Find more information on agendas, how to participate and how to watch the meetings here.
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No rail service between Oceanside and San Diego this weekend
The San Diego Association of Governments and North County Transit District will suspend all coastal rail line service between Oceanside and Downtown San Diego starting this weekend, Oct. 2–3. No passenger or freight trains will operate beginning early Saturday morning through early Monday morning.
The service suspension is necessary to complete construction needed for the Mid Coast Corridor Transit Project. Here is a complete list of upcoming scheduled weekend rail closures.
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Fun things to do
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