Dear Neighbor,  

A bill I am strongly supporting that would help modernize California's mental healthcare system has taken a critical step toward becoming law.

Senate Bill 43 by State Senator Susan Eggman would reform our state’s conservatorship laws in order to ensure those suffering from extreme mental illness get the help and care they need.Specifically, it would modernize the definition of “gravely disabled” to better meet the needs of people experiencing severe mental illness.

This bill represents much-needed reforms to our state’s conservatorship and mental health system. That’s why I am urging legislators to pass this bill. These reforms will result in more compassionate, effective, and efficient support for people experiencing mental health challenges while also helping to address our homeless crisis and ultimately save lives.  

As always, it’s an honor to serve as your Mayor. 

Water Bill Fixes on the Way  

When I’m at community events, people frequently pull me aside to express frustration over issues with their water bills. I completely understand those frustrations, and I want San Diegans to know that we recognize where the department’s customer service is falling short and are implementing changes to address longstanding systemic problems.

These include adding staff, enhancing training and providing customers faster and more convenient access to our services with online and phone system improvements and technology upgrades.

One crucial technology change coming later this month will notify customers when their bill is delayed for any reason. Currently, the billing system automatically holds a customer’s bill for investigation if the amount of water used is significantly outside the typical range of a customer’s historic usage. This may be due to issues like a water leak on the property, a meter malfunction or manual misread of the water meter.

When accounts require staff investigation, the bills are held until the investigation is resolved. Once resolved, the bills that accumulated during the investigation are issued, and the customer is contacted with details of the investigation. 

We’re changing the billing system to notify customers immediately when bills are delayed so they’re not surprised.

Over the past six months, the Public Utilities Department has also made significant progress on improving online access to water and wastewater services, modernizing the phone system and enhanced training of customer support staff.

Wait times have decreased for people calling the Customer Service center. In March 2023, callers were on hold for up to two hours. As of August 2023, call wait times dropped to an average of 35 minutes. We will continue to work on reducing wait times to more acceptable levels.

The Public Utilities Department is on track to launch a modernized phone system this year and is also working on other technology improvements that will ensure we can provide the excellent customer service San Diegans expect and deserve. I appreciate your patience. 

Progress Report: Civic Center Revitalization 

Our effort to remake and revitalize our Civic Center core in Downtown continues to move forward as we entered exclusive negotiations with a developer seeking to convert the office building at 101 Ash St. into nearly 400 affordable homes.

This 90-day negotiation period will allow us to explore the proposal for 101 Ash St. submitted by La Jolla-based developer Reven Capital. This is done to ensure that it represents a good deal for San Diego taxpayers and fits our vision for the surrounding blocks.

Reven Capital’s submission is in response to a notice we put out soliciting proposals to redevelop five blocks of a six-block area that’s currently home to our decaying and inefficient city administrative complex – City Hall, the Civic Center Plaza, the City Operations Building and Golden Hall – as well as the San Diego Civic Theater and a parking structure.

Our vision for a new Civic Center will energize the area with new homes, updated office space for City workers, arts and culture, vibrant public spaces, nightlife and new economic opportunities. While we work with Reven Capital on their proposal, we are also evaluating next steps to solicit proposals to redevelop the remaining five blocks.

Getting People Out of Unsafe Encampments and Into Shelters 

The City and our law enforcement partners have been enforcing the Unsafe Camping Ordinance for just over a month, and the impacts of the new law can already be seen in some of the sensitive areas – such as parks and near schools – where the City is focusing its efforts first.  

In Balboa Park, for example, dozens of encampments have been cleared, and some of the people who had been staying in them are now staying at our Safe Sleeping site at 20th and B or other City-run shelters.  

Park Rangers say they have seen a “significance decrease” in unsheltered activity throughout Balboa Park. 

Encampments pose a serious health and safety risk to the people living in them. And, for the people forced to navigate around them during trips to Balboa Park, there are health and safety threats, too, such as drug paraphernalia and sidewalk accessibility issues.  

Everyone deserves access to our parks. Everyone deserves a roof over their heads, too. The Unsafe Camping Ordinance is helping us work toward both these goals while helping provide a safer, healthier environment for all of us. 

San Diego Secures $45 Million State Grant to Create Affordable Housing 

The state has awarded $45 million to San Diego to support the creation of more than 1,180 affordable homes through the state’s Catalytic Infill Infrastructure Grant.  

Under the leadership of Gov. Gavin Newsom and this Legislature, the State of California has been a committed partner for cities like ours that want to be part of the solution to the housing crisis. This major state grant represents another major step forward for San Diego.  

We will put this funding to work as quickly as possible to build out the community infrastructure necessary to support the creation of nearly 1,200 new homes for San Diegans looking for an affordable place to live. 

The state funds will support developments in downtown San Diego and South San Diego by funding things like site preparation, concrete paving and traffic signals, plus new residential parking for the housing developments, and transit investments to build better pathways, bus shelters, and bike facilities nearby.  

This grant program works to help fill gaps in financing specifically for infrastructure and improvements that turn existing buildings into new affordable housing projects with the necessary infrastructure and amenities to support them.  

The San Diego projects funded through this innovative grant program build upon policies pioneered by the City of San Diego to address housing affordability, including using surplus state land, building on underutilized land at a trolley stop owned by the Metropolitan Transit System, and leveraging a local community land trust.  

These funds represent yet another way in which the City of San Diego and the San Diego Housing Commission continue forward on our comprehensive approach to creating more housing that San Diegans can afford. 

Getting to Know a Border NGO

I joined a local group of alumni from the University of Iowa to learn more about what the nonprofit VIA International does to serve migrants and other communities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. I was excited to learn more about VIA International’s Via Barrio program, which helped to incubate and launch Pan Y Paz, San Diego’s first women-owned bakers’ cooperative. The City’s Economic Development Department has provided grants for VIA to purchase equipment and fund the marketing and overall development of the Pan y Paz as a collective business.