With San Diego’s homelessness problem steadily worsening, the City Council is creating a committee to explore potential solutions and increase transparency about what the city is already doing and what else is being considered.

The new panel, which the City Council is scheduled to approve Tuesday, would boost the role in addressing homelessness of the council, which has been overshadowed by Mayor Kevin Faulconer on the topic.

Creation of the council’s Select Committee on Homelessness comes one week after Faulconer’s point person on homelessness, Stacie Spector, abruptly resigned without explanation.

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But the new committee, which has been in the planning stages since March, is not a reaction to Spector’s departure.

“Our city and region has one of the largest populations of homeless in the country,” said Council President Myrtle Cole, who spearheaded creation of the panel. “It’s time that we made addressing homelessness a priority that we all need to work on together.”

The mission of the committee, which is expected to start meeting in June, is to clarify and strengthen the city’s role in addressing homelessness, explore new solutions and analyze available funding.

The committee will also update the city’s “Comprehensive Homeless Council Policy,” which hasn’t been amended at all since 1995.


Councilman Chris Ward, whose district includes downtown, Hillcrest and other areas with large homeless populations, has been designated chairman of the committee.

Ward is also vice-chair of the newly revamped Regional Task Force on the Homeless, a countywide group that controls significant local resources.

“I’ve already been working closely with the mayor’s office to improve coordination between all our regional stakeholders,” said Ward. “As chair of the council’s Select Committee on Homelessness, I would bring all these stakeholders together on a coordinated plan to make the most of our resources and provide sufficient and appropriate services to the thousands of San Diegans who need immediate help and long-term, sustainable solutions.”

“I’ve heard the frustration from advocates, constituents, providers and the homeless themselves that they aren’t seeing the talk produce enough change on the streets and in their lives,” said Ward. “The select committee is an opportunity to focus on the many policy opportunities we have to initiate new approaches in the city.”


Other members of the new committee include Georgette Gomez, Lorie Zapf and Chris Cate.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick