Cardiff Residents Face Encinitas Decision to Forgo $3.9M Homeless Grant

Cardiff-by-the-Sea residents are affected by the Encinitas City Council’s decision not to pursue a potential state grant that could have expanded homelessness outreach, housing navigation, supportive services and encampment-response work across the city.

The council voted 4-1 on June 24, 2026, not to direct city staff to apply for nearly $3.9 million in Round 5 Encampment Resolution Funding offered through the California Department of Housing and Community Development. The city council agenda identified the grant item and proposed action, while subsequent reporting by the Regional Task Force on Homelessness and Voice of San Diego documented the vote and its policy debate.

What the grant could have supported

The proposed application could have supported services for roughly 100 people experiencing homelessness and housing for about 20 people. The funding was also intended to help with outreach, housing navigation, supportive services and encampment-response work.

The money was not awarded to Encinitas, and no funding was allocated directly to Cardiff. Unless the council revisits its decision, Encinitas will not pursue this particular grant opportunity.

Why the council declined to apply

The main dispute centered on Housing First requirements and other conditions associated with the state program. Several council members questioned whether the grant would give Encinitas enough control over how services were designed and delivered.

City staff said the fifth funding round offered more flexibility than earlier rounds. According to the local reporting, the round did not require immediate placement into permanent housing and allowed supportive services to help people stabilize first. A San Diego Rescue Mission representative also told the council that the organization had used the program in another North County city without the problems some council members feared.

Those explanations did not overcome the majority’s concerns about Housing First, the state housing department and grant conditions that council members viewed as inconsistent with the city’s preferred approach. Those objections reflected the council’s position; they were not a change to the state program’s official requirements.

Why the decision matters in Cardiff

Cardiff-by-the-Sea is a defined community area within the City of Encinitas, according to the city’s community-boundary GIS record. An independent San Diego tourism authority community guide also identifies Cardiff-by-the-Sea as part of Encinitas.

That relationship means citywide decisions about homelessness programs, outreach contracts and local funding apply to Cardiff through Encinitas’ government. The proposed grant might have expanded services available across the city, but its outcomes were not guaranteed and the application did not establish that any housing would have been located in Cardiff.

Declining to apply leaves Encinitas without access to this particular potential state funding stream. The city may instead rely on existing programs, seek other grants or consider local funding, including possible general-fund spending. Those costs are not certain, but the decision leaves future outreach and housing-response funding unresolved.

The June vote did not end homelessness services in Encinitas or, by itself, change current encampment conditions. It did narrow the city’s immediate options for expanding outreach, housing navigation and encampment-response capacity. For Cardiff residents, the remaining question is how Encinitas will address those needs without the proposed grant.

Sources

• Encinitas City Council June 24, 2026 agenda
• Regional Task Force on Homelessness report
• Voice of San Diego report
• City of Encinitas community boundary GIS layer