Watsonville City Council passes homelessness act

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday unanimously passed the city’s Homelessness Action Plan, a 46-page list of ways in which the city hopes to address an issue that is plaguing communities throughout the U.S. 

Deputy City Manager Nick Calubaquib said that many of the items in the plan are already underway, while others will serve as guidance for city leaders as funds and resources become available.

Tuesday’s discussion came about two months after the Point in Time count—an annual survey of the county’s homeless population—showed a 50% decrease in the city of Watsonville.

While city leaders say that decrease comes thanks to the ongoing coordinated efforts to ameliorate homelessness—including the creation of new housing units, investment in prevention programs, and collaboration of city, county and nonprofit efforts—the report acknowledges that the issue still poses an ongoing challenge to the city.

Mayor Maria Orozco said the plan gives the city marching orders for future planning efforts.

“I view this plan as a way to maximize our resources,” she said. “Instead of duplicating efforts, it’s really working together in different ways with different agencies to make sure that we’re maximizing every penny that we do have, every resource that we do have.”

The city held two community workshops on homelessness in March and October 2024, which resulted in the formation of the Task Force on Homelessness, which began meeting in January.

That group will meet monthly with representatives from the City Manager’s Office, the police and fire departments, the Community Development, Public Works and Parks and Community Services departments and the Library, and report progress to the City Council at least once per year.

Among other things, the task force developed strategies such as expanding low-income housing opportunities, partnering with nonprofits and affordable housing developers, and encouraging the creation of 100% below-market rate housing.

It also calls for public-private partnerships and looking to organizations with extra land, such as churches and schools. 

In addition, the plan suggests zoning amendments to streamline low-income housing developments, as well as pursuing regional, state and federal funds, including grants, bonds and housing trust contributions.

While the council agreed that homelessness is an issue that needs to be addressed, some questioned how the plan could be turned to “action” at a time when an economic recession is looming and cuts from the federal level are a near certainty.

“I just don’t like giving false hope,” Councilman Jimmy Dutra said. “I want to be straight. I just feel like we too often give false hope to people thinking that we’re going to do something and then we don’t do it and then it falls back on us.”

Councilwoman Ari Parker agreed.

“I feel like this is extremely misleading,” she said. “It was misleading to me, and I read it over and over again, and it has to be misleading to the public.”

City Manager Tamara Vides said that the plan is intended to prioritize actions to be taken when the resources exist.

“We are not recommending, we are not suggesting,” she said. “We are just commenting that the City of Watsonville does not have a dedicated position, that’s it.”

Referring to the Management and Enforcement section of the plan, Councilman Casey Clark questioned how the city will address enforcement of the 5% of homeless individuals who cause the majority of problems for the city.

Surveyed businesses say they spend thousands of dollars replacing broken equipment, fixing damaged property, installing security cameras, and cleaning garbage and human waste.

“What have we done in the last two years about that?” Clark asked. “Since we’re sitting here talking about all these things we’re going to do in the future, have we done anything we talked about in the past?”

The problem is worsened, Clark added, when the county jail and local mental health services are turning people away.

“I see all this money going down the drain, and I don’t see any positive trends going on,” he said. 

The item garnered little public comment.

Watsonville resident Marta Buliach said that Watsonville has a history of “tolerating negative impacts of homelessness on surrounding neighborhoods and businesses.”

The plan, she said, fails to address crime and code violations that directly harm the community.

“Local businesses report shrinkage, human waste on private property, threats of violence and customers being driven away,” she said, adding that the plan offers no accountability to the perpetrators. 

“That is not law enforcement,” she said. “It does not deter repeat offenders or protect law-abiding residences or businesses.”

While the council did not address the concerns about enforcement in the passage of the plan, they did agree to switch the name to “Homelessness Strategic Plan.”