![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Jose-Rodriguez-NC.png\")
National City Councilmember Jose Rodriguez speaks during a council meeting on Feb. 18, 2025. (Courtesy of National City)<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tWhy this matters<\/p>\n
As the number of San Diego County residents who enter homelessness continues to outpace the number of locals who exit it every month, a lack of shelter options in North County is brewing a debate between two cities 30 miles apart.<\/p>\n
Elected officials in Encinitas and National City, two coastal San Diego County cities 30 miles from each other, are in a fight over how \u2014 and where \u2014 to shelter unhoused people.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because Encinitas unanimously approved reserving 12 beds at the San Diego Rescue Mission\u2019s South County Lighthouse shelter for its unhoused population, much to the dismay of National City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Jose Rodriguez.<\/p>\n
He broke what he called an \u201cunwritten rule\u201d in speaking at another city\u2019s council meeting Wednesday night when he criticized Encinitas for sending unhoused residents out of town instead of coming up with a solution closer to home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease do your fair share before asking National City to do more of ours,\u201d he said. \u201cIn National City, we really do our part. With adamant community opposition, we actually had the political courage to say yes to host a 162-bed Lighthouse within our community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
National City Councilmember Jose Rodriguez speaks during a council meeting on Feb. 18, 2025. (Courtesy of National City)<\/p>\n
His message was not well-received \u2014 and eventually, he was thrown out of the meeting. Encinitas councilmembers said he had the facts wrong, and the decision was only a temporary solution after the city of Vista said it would use all of the beds at the Buena Creek Navigation Center, which Encinitas formerly used. They accused Rodriguez of using their meeting as a place to campaign for mayor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can smile back there but you know it\u2019s true. You\u2019re here campaigning,\u201d Deputy Mayor Jim O\u2019Hara said.<\/p>\n
When Rodriguez tried to come back to the podium after those comments, Mayor Bruce Ehlers repeatedly told him he was out of order several times before asking a sheriff\u2019s deputy to escort Rodriguez out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know this is good theater for your videos,\u201d Ehlers said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two opposite cities\u00a0<\/p>\n
Encinitas and National City are opposite when it comes to income levels as well as their approaches to housing and homelessness.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez told inewsource after the meeting that Encinitas needs to \u201cstep up\u201d by using the North County city\u2019s own public land and monies to address homelessness in its neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a microcosm of what has happened: more affluent, wealthy cities in the north, not taking cities in the South Bay seriously, taking us for granted,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd not even bothering giving us a call as a municipality, as a city, I think is ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Encinitas had a median household income of $162,000 and a 7.4% poverty rate in 2024, the most recent census data available. That\u2019s compared to National City\u2019s nearly $67,000 median income and 14.6% poverty rate.<\/p>\n
Encinitas and National City clash over shelter beds \u2014support reporting that follows the story in both cities.Give $10<\/a><\/p>\n The average home goes for under $700,000 in National City, and nearly two-thirds of its residents are renters. In Encinitas, which has a reputation for falling behind<\/a> in building affordable housing, the average home costs $2 million.<\/p>\n Though the cities have roughly the same number of residents, their unhoused population numbers also look different. Encinitas reported just 100 unhoused residents in its latest annual Point-in-Time Count<\/a>. National City\u2019s count exceeded 300.<\/p>\n National City Mayor Ron Morrison blasted Rodriguez\u2019s visit to the Encinitas council meeting, saying Rodriguez was \u201cdesperate for a campaign issue,\u201d blew the shelters out of proportion and \u201cmade a fool of himself up there.\u201d<\/p>\n Morrison said he spoke with Ehlers Thursday and was assured that the 12-bed agreement is temporary.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ehlers also said Wednesday that the Rescue Mission is pursuing shelter options in Escondido, but did not provide a timeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n Morrison said he will speak with the Rescue Mission this week to get a more definitive timeline and to ask that National City officials be notified about shelter program changes. The city has previously requested that the nonprofit prioritize unhoused residents from National City.<\/p>\n National City Councilmember Marcus Bush, who is also running for mayor,\u00a0said that while the dynamic of more affluent Encinitas paying to send unhoused people to National City is a \u201cnuanced, fair conversation\u201d to have between the two cities, Rodriguez shouldn\u2019t have acted alone.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not giving money to the Rescue Mission,\u201d Bush said, adding that the shelter has a permit to operate but does not receive city funding. \u201cSo that is a fair issue, but that\u2019s something that we can talk about instead of grandstanding and political stunts.<\/p>\n \u201cNow we\u2019re talking about Jose and his stunt instead of the actual issue.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bush noted he lives next to the Rescue Mission and has had to recuse himself from a past vote years ago due to his proximity to the shelter.<\/p>\n Rodriguez defended his stance. He said he\u2019s fighting for National City constituents who want solutions to homelessness issues.<\/p>\n \u201cI know they keep saying that this is a campaign issue,\u201d he said about his critics, \u201cbut you know what? I would have showed up there six months ago, a year ago, two years ago. It doesn\u2019t matter when it was.\u201d<\/p>\n Encinitas takes stricter approach to homelessness<\/p>\n Encinitas will spend up to roughly $380,000 a year on the National City beds, depending on how many beds the city uses. Continuing to pay for beds at the Buena Creek Navigation Center would have cost $715,000 this year, according to a city staff report.<\/p>\n Encinitas already has a yearlong $344,000 contract with the San Diego Rescue Mission for outreach and housing help.<\/p>\n Because the council had initially approved the amendment in September, the item was on last week\u2019s consent calendar until Councilmember Joy Lyndes pulled it for discussion, suggesting that Encinitas City Manager Jennifer Campbell \u201cengage in dialogue\u201d with her National City counterpart.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ehlers pointed to the Rescue Mission\u2019s treatment-first approach, which is favored by him and the rest of the more conservative City Council. That\u2019s why the city voted in June against applying for a nearly $4 million grant for eradicating homeless encampments.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/NatCityHomeless_004.jpg\")
A view of the San Diego Rescue Mission\u2019s South County Lighthouse shelter in National City on Oct. 19, 2026. (Sandy Huffaker for inewsource)<\/p>\n
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