Delivering on a call-to-action made during his 2025 State of the City address in January, Mayor Todd Gloria has reached an agreement with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) that will allow the City of San Diego to clear unsafe and unsanitary homeless encampments along freeways in the state right of way.  

Covering a 5-mile stretch of state freeways that run through Little Italy, Downtown, Sherman Heights, East Village, and Barrio Logan, the agreement helps streamline the process for the City’s outreach workers to go onto the state property to offer available shelter and housing resources to people in encampments and authorizes the City to the clear trash and debris. 

“The homeless encampments along our freeways are not only unsightly, but they are unsafe. After months of negotiations, I am excited to see this innovative partnership come to fruition. This agreement will allow the City to have access to Caltrans property in and around Downtown to clean up encampments and assist those living there get into a better situation,” said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. “I’d like to thank Governor Newsom and Caltrans for their partnership in making this agreement possible. It’s my hope that San Diego can become a model for the rest of the state.”  

Structured around Gov. Gavin Newsom’s model encampment ordinance to expedite the removal of encampments throughout California, the agreement ensures a faster and far more efficient process to clear encampments and connect those living in them with resources that will ultimately end their homelessness.  

In addition to connecting people experiencing homelessness to care and more quickly resolving unsafe encampments along freeways and access ramps, the agreement also will free up Caltrans crews to conduct much-needed maintenance elsewhere in the region. 

Under the agreement for this one-year pilot program, the State of California will reimburse the City for up to $400,000 of its costs to clean up and address encampments along State right of way and to connect individuals to appropriate housing or shelter. The City is also committing financial resources through this agreement, using existing abatement teams to conduct additional operations along targeted areas of state property. 

“As San Diegans, we can agree that we want people to be safe, housed and not living along state highways,” said Caltrans District 11 Director Ann Fox. “The city of San Diego, and other cities throughout San Diego County, have been great partners in the work Caltrans does every day to address encampments along state highways. This agreement is an example of the close work Caltrans does with cities to remove encampments and support local partners in getting people access to shelters and assistance.” 

The pilot covers the following spans of state right-of-way in and around downtown: 

• Interstate 5 from the Coronado Bridge to Laurel Street (3.5 miles)
• State Route 163 from Ash Street to Interstate 5 (0.4 miles) 
• State Route 94 from 17th Street to 30th Street (1.1 miles) 

In addition to pursuing the delegated maintenance agreement, the City of San Diego also sponsored statewide legislation, Senate Bill 569, authored by Sen. Catherine Blakespear that would require closer coordination between Caltrans and local officials regarding cleanups along state highways.  

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING: 

State Senator Catherine S. Blakespear:  

“I applaud the City of San Diego’s agreement with Caltrans, which serves as a model for how the state can partner better with local governments,” said Sen. Catherine S. Blakespear. “By cutting red tape and letting local cities use their processes, we can speed up our response to homeless encampments and more quickly move unsheltered people to safer places where they can get the support they need. Encampments along roadsides are dangerous and destructive – they are unsafe for people living there and for motorists, and they create fire risk, trash and often damage to transportation infrastructure. This agreement is an important step as we work to create more urgency, and greater inter-government coordination, to address the unsheltered street homelessness crisis.” 

State Senator Steve Padilla: 

“I am grateful to see the City of San Diego partnering with the State of California to more efficiently get people off our streets and onto a path towards ending their homelessness” said State Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). “I have heard from my constituents about how unsafe and unacceptable it is to have encampments along our freeways, and I couldn’t agree more. I applaud Mayor Gloria and Caltrans for reaching an agreement to formalize this innovative state and local partnership so we can better serve those in need.” 

State Assemblymember Tasha Boerner:  

“I applaud the city of San Diego and Caltrans for their interagency cooperation to not only address encampments but also to ensure support of a path out of homelessness,” said Assemblymember Tasha Boerner. “I know Mayor Todd Gloria worked hard on this agreement and I look forward to a successful partnership between Caltrans and our city.” 

San Diego City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn:  

“We have reduced encampments on city property, and we will now see progress on state property, too,” said Councilmember Stephen Whitburn who represents Downtown. “Encampments are unsafe and unhealthy for those living in them, and they create problems for nearby residents, workers, and visitors. I applaud Mayor Gloria for reaching this agreement with the state to benefit our city.” 

Sarah Jarman, Director of Homeless Strategies and Solutions, City of San Diego:  

“The ability for our City-funded outreach teams to continue working with individuals moving onto, or from, state property is an exciting new development,” said Sarah Jarman, Director of the City’s Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department. “It can take weeks or months to build trust with some who may be hesitant to receive services – so it's critical for our partners to be able to reach people regardless of small jurisdictional boundaries and I’m grateful for the state’s partnership in this targeted pilot program. Through state-funded Encampment Resolution Fund grants, we’ve previously partnered with Caltrans to offer shelter and housing resources  – we’ve seen how a holistic approach can work and look forward to our continued partnership.”  

San Diego Padres: 

“The San Diego Padres applaud the City of San Diego and Caltrans for establishing this agreement to address the ongoing challenges along our freeways. Petco Park welcomes millions of guests each year for Padres games and other events, and the safety of our guests and all San Diegans is a priority for the Padres. This agreement is a meaningful step toward improving the Caltrans property that surrounds the Ballpark District.” 

Chris Cate, President and CEO, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce:  

“This agreement represents meaningful progress in our regional response to homelessness,” said Chris Cate, President and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. “By empowering the City to address encampments in key transportation corridors more swiftly, we’re creating a more stable environment for residents, businesses, and visitors alike. We applaud both CalTrans and the City of San Diego for creating solutions to the crises that continue to negatively impact hard-working families and the economic wellbeing of our region.” 

Daniel Kuperschmid, President and CEO, San Diego Tourism Authority: 

“We are encouraged that this partnership / agreement will help address the encampments along the freeways more effectively and improve safety for the unhoused population while connecting them with outreach and services.” 

Alonso Vivas, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Clean & Safe, Downtown San Diego Partnership: 

“The Downtown San Diego Partnership has been a constant advocate for Downtown, providing enhanced safety and maintenance services, along with human-centered, street-based outreach and unhoused services. We continue to champion innovative programs and applaud the City of San Diego and Caltrans for working together on a solution to freeway encampments that prioritizes both compassion and accountability. This coordinated approach will help connect individuals experiencing homelessness with vital resources while reducing environmental waste and strengthening public safety, quality of life, and Downtown beautification efforts. We often only have one opportunity to make a positive impression to visitors of our urban core – this solution is invaluable to improving our gateways to Downtown.” 

Rear Admiral Rich Jarrett, Commander, United States Navy Region Southwest: 

“The Navy supports efforts by the City of San Diego and Caltrans to reduce the impacts of unauthorized encampments, as well as efforts to provide shelter and housing to our local unsheltered community, some of whom are veterans.  Unauthorized encampments on Caltrans property do not provide safe housing and create environmental and security risks.  Many of our sites are near or adjacent to Caltrans property – we support these efforts by the City of San Diego” 

Lieutenant Jared Wilson, President, San Diego Police Officers Association: 

“Encampments in the city of San Diego are not only a quality-of-life issue; they conceal areas for people to use hard drugs, cause environmental damage, and are hot spots of criminal activity. The City of San Diego has been working hard over the last several years to clean out these encampments, but many have moved onto state property. This agreement is a step in the right direction in taking back our public spaces for everyone through compassionate enforcement of the law.” 

Andres Alva Cardenas, Business Representative, AFSCME Local 127: 

“AFSCME Local 127 is pleased with this Delegated Maintenance Agreement. The DMA delineates between the responsibilities of the City and of the State, making the duties of the City clearer. And the DMA allows the City to be reimbursed, making it fairer for the City to recover the costs it incurs while performing these maintenance services. In all, this DMA results in a good balance between City and State responsibilities and, in turn, between City and State costs over this essential work.”