Chula Vista, Imperial Beach strike agreements to partner on homeless shelter

By Gary Warth

Aug. 18, 2026

Homeless people from Imperial Beach will be sheltered in Chula Vista under agreements recently approved by both cities.

Under the two-year agreement approved by the Chula Vista City Council on a 4-1 vote Aug. 18, homeless people from Imperial Beach will stay at the 62-unit Chula Vista Village at Otay, a pallet shelter that opened in May 2023.

The Imperial Beach City Council met Aug 19 and unanimously approved the agreement, which calls on Imperial Beach to reimburse Chula Vista $90.60 a day for each person sent to the pallet shelter.

During the Chula Vista City Council meeting, Mayor John McCann said addressing homelessness requires a regional approach, and this was an example of cities working and collaborating with one another.

McCann spoke the next night at the Imperial Beach City Council meeting, where he said the agreement would strengthen regional collaboration between the two cities.

This year’s point-in-time count found 25 homeless people in Imperial Beach, a 47% increase from 2025.

Chula Vista’s unsheltered homeless population declined by about 25% in that time, dropping from 470 to 355.

Since opening in May 2023, the Chula Vista Village at Otay has provided temporary bridge shelter and supportive services for 210 homeless people, according to the staff report at the meeting.

The shelter averages an occupancy rate of more than 80%, and from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, the shelter enrolled 124 new participants and achieved 39 successful exits to permanent or temporary housing, according to the staff report.

One of the goals in Chula Vista’s recently adopted strategic plan on homelessness is to position the Village as a South Bay asset because many homeless positions move throughout the area for resources, and contracting with other cities will make the operation more financially sustainable, according to the staff presentation.

City Councilmember Michael Inzunza cast the only opposing vote to the agreement and cited concerns about Chula Vista taking on the responsibilities of homeless services in the region.

“My responsibility is first and foremost to represent the residents of Chula Vista,” he said. “I cannot assume our residents would support using our limited shelter capacity to take on the homelessness responsibilities of other cities.

“My concern is Chula Vista could gradually become the default provider for Imperial Beach, National City, Coronado, South San Diego and other neighboring communities whenever they lack facilities of their own,” he said.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Greg Martinez questioned whether the $90.60 was the true cost and whether the agreement would lead to the city creating a larger homeless services for the region.

Angelica Martinez said she opposed the agreement because she saw it as Imperial Beach shifting its responsibilities to Chula Vista, and she questioned whether people from Chula Vista would be given priority for the shelter.

Also at the meeting, Imperial Beach Mayor Mitch McKay said there was a misunderstanding about how many people from his city would use the shelter. While the point-in-time count found 25 unsheltered people in Imperial Beach this year, McKay said it was unlikely that all of them would agree to go to the Chula Vista Village at Otay.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we got three or four people in a year to use that facility,” he said.

Imperial Beach Housing and Neighborhood Services Manager Rolfe said his city already works with the San Diego Rescue Mission to shelter people at the nonprofit’s Lighthouse facility in National City and also partners with the Salvation Army, East County Transitional Living Center and the county.

“We’re just at a lack of space,” he said about the city’s need to have shelter beds outside of Imperial Beach. “We operate almost completely off of partnerships.”