Planning commission backs Interfaith Community Services’ expansion of withdrawal management beds; recommends council consider broader flexibility

The Escondido Planning Commission on Jan. 28 voted to recommend that City Council approve a conditional use permit modification to allow Interfaith Community Services to convert emergency shelter beds at 550 West Washington into withdrawal-management (detox) beds, increasing the facility’s permitted withdrawal-management capacity. The commission voted to approve staff’s recommended resolution and asked staff to convey to council that commissioners discussed granting the operator greater flexibility to use beds according to changing funding and program need.

Staff described the requested change as a conversion of the formerly permitted 49 emergency shelter beds to withdrawal-management service beds, resulting in a maximum of 59 withdrawal‑management beds at the facility while keeping the site’s total permitted residential capacity at 103 beds. Alex Rangel, assistant planner, said the requested modification formalizes an expansion of a county contract and is intended to accommodate a San Diego County-funded expansion of Interfaith’s residential withdrawal-management program.

Interfaith CEO Greg Angel told commissioners the agency had secured outside funding: a five‑year, $12 million contract from San Diego County and a $2 million federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support an expanded residential withdrawal-management program and…