LEMON GROVE RESIDENTS FEEL DUPED BY COUNTY AND CITY OFFICIALS ON SLEEPING CABINS PROPOSAL

By Jessyka Heredia

July 17, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – Residents of Lemon Grove were told there would be a community forum tomorrow  to discuss the possibility of bringing 70 sleeping cabins to Lemon Grove to house homeless people. But County Supervisors voted 4-0 yesterday (with Nora Vargas absent) to move forward on the project just two days before the community forum, leaving residents to wonder if their input ever mattered.

The project was to be built with a $10 million dollar grant from the state originally slated for 150 sleeping cabins in Spring Valley, but that project was cancelled after objections from neighbors over proximity to homes and sensitive sites. Vargas said she “heard the concerns of the community” and backed instead building a smaller-scale project in Lemon Grove near the Spring Valley boundary.

On Monday, the day before the Supervisors’ voted to approve less than half as many sleeping cabins in Lemon Grove, Governor Gavin Newsom pulled the funds completely. The County voted to move forward and fund the site without state funds and to instead use federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds allocated to the county instead.

POLITICO reported that Newsom’s spokesperson Izzy Gardon stated, “San Diego County could not move with urgency [that] the housing and homelessness crisis demands. The Governor is committed to accountability, and we will not allow local bureaucratic delays and opposition to impede the state’s unprecedented efforts to get people off the streets and into housing.”

The site in Lemon Grove is on Cal-Trans property at Troy and Sweetwater.  Last week, ECM reached out to Lemon Grove City Manager Lydia Romero to ask if the city will get a vote on this matter or if the County can do the project without the city’s approval. Romero responded, “I do not know the answer to your question. There is no project at this moment.”  ECM then reached out to Lemon Grove City attorney Kristen Steinke and asked the same question, but after several attempts we were not given a reply.

ECM also reached out to County Supervisor Monica Montgomery-Steppe who represents District 4 that includes Lemon Grove, but we have not received a response yet from her team. Steppe had touted the community meeting slated for July 18 at 6 p.m.  at the Community Center, 3146 School  Lane, Lemon Grove. Montgomery-Steppe also posted a survey residents can take on the proposed sleeping cabins.  It is unclear why she scheduled the community forum to occur after the Supervisors’ vote, or whether community input can result in any changes at this point.

 At last night’s Lemon Grove City Council meeting , a longtime resident facing homelessness, Brenda Hammond, spoke during public comments. “Being homeless as long as I have been here in Lemon Grove, being homeless I should know about this and not have on social media.” Hammond said she was told by friends in two other cities in East County about a meeting that took place over the weekend with Councilmember Snow and Councilmember Mendoza at a city park to discuss these sleeping cabins.  Montgomery-Steppe was a guest to answer questions. The meeting was not advertised or posted by the city, so many in the community didn’t know about it.

Ken King, resident of Lemon Grove told the Council, “From my understanding ... supposedly there’s a meeting here on Thursday, in regard to the Troy Project. Before I came to the meeting today, I heard all over the news that you guys have already approved it. So, we’re all confused on what’s going on here,” said King, who was apparently unaware that it was County Supervisors, not Lemon Grove Councilmembers, who voted to approve the project.

King says that he heard there was a survey going around about the sleeping cabins but said, “I never received it, and everything is just social media.”

King added, I would like to know why the residents of Lemon Grove have not heard exactly what the cost is. The people of Lemon Grove do not want this, I asked my neighbors. They do not want this.”

City Manager Romero responded, “The meeting Mr. King has spoken of is actually sponsored by Supervisor Monica Montgomery-Steppe, not the city. The City Council has not approved anything. The Board of Supervisors, I jus got word, approved 4-0 for the staff to continue to move to explore the project.” Romero encouraged King to go to the meeting on Thursday.

King later told ECM he “was angry” after hearing the County voted before even hearing residents’ concerns at the community forum. “I don’t understand how they can ask everyone their opinion and have a meeting, but yet makes it’s decision two days before the meeting. I think it’s their way of railroading the residents of Lemon Grove.”

Long time resident Aubree Russell told ECM, “Well my dad just got off the phone with the city! No public comments from the people on Thursday; we are not getting a voice in this from what it sounds like! Thanks, Alysson Snow.”

Councilmember and Mayoral candidate Alysson Snow has been “representing the other Council members and the Mayor” according to statements she left in public comment before the County Supervisors board meetings on the subject. ECM asked Snow, “When were you authorized to make that statement? Or why did you feel you could make that statement?”

Snow apparently wasn’t given specific permission by anyone on Council ,but said that “All members of the Council and the Mayor at the priority session and in other times in City Council meetings have said we needed to address homelessness” in the past. 

Voicing a general need to help the homeless does not necessarily mean, however, that each member would also support  the project for cabins to shelter homeless individuals in Lemon Grove.

Resident Penny Martinez Expressed, “Alysson Snow needs to be at that meeting and answer questions.”

Planning Commissioner and resident Jacquelyn Clark expressed,” Well, there’s always November. Where you can be heard loud and clear. Register to vote and vote.”

ECM earlier reported that some residents do support the project, including longtime resident and outreach organizer Teresa Rosiak, has spoken vocally for the need of these cabins here in Lemon Grove. She told ECM,.”Yes in my backyard!”

But long-time resident Gregory Woods told ECM, “If there weren't funds to implement the project there would be no need for a community meeting. You can put the cart before the horse. Many are stating their opposition. We're simply having dialogue.”

Editor of ECM Miriam Raftery also interviewed several homeless people while accompanying Rosiak on an outreach and several of them said that they would like to have the opportunity to be placed in the sleeping cabins. Read more about their struggles and stories here:  https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/homeless-people-lemon-grove-hope-dign...

After the County vote on Tuesday, Montgomery-Steppe posted on her Facebook page, “Sleeping cabins don’t just provide a place to sleep; they provide a chance for individuals to regain stability and dignity as they transition to permanent housing. The approval of up to 70 sleeping cabins in Lemon Grove is a pivotal step in addressing homelessness compassionately and effectively. Together, we are making strides in creating a more inclusive and caring community.”

ECM will update this story if we receive a response from District 4 County Supervisor Montgomery-Steppe.

If you live in Lemon Grove and want to attend the County Supervisor Community Forum on Thursday July 18, it is being held at the Lemon Grove Community Center, located at 3146 School Lane Drive at 6 p.m.