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 a SAMHSA‑funded outreach team. "Seventy percent of the individuals who come into that program successfully completed and are linked to longer term treatment programs," Angel said, describing the program as a pathway from short-term medical withdrawal support to longer-term treatment and housing services.

Staff and the applicant also noted operational details and limits. Interfaith reported current residential components include a 44‑bed transitional housing facility, a 10‑bed veteran/withdrawal-management flex space and a 49‑bed emergency shelter; the proposal would reclassify beds in part to support withdrawal-management services without increasing the total 103-bed capacity. Rangel told the commission the morning-meal condition and bed counts in the staff draft needed two typographical corrections: the withdrawal-management capacity in the draft conditions should read 59 (not 49), and morning meal service hours in the conditions should match the request to provide meals daily from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.

Commissioners asked about past enforcement concerns and the city’s review history. Staff summarized that Escondido Police Department’s Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPS) unit and city staff worked with the operator over 2023–2024; those issues led to a consolidated, city-initiated CUP review that city council addressed on Jan. 15. Staff said the council action and the collaborative work with police and Interfaith produced the operative set of conditions the commission considered. The police department participated in reviews and staff said the department no longer had outstanding objections under the modified conditions.

Public testimony included faith-based volunteers and a program manager who described the regional need for detox beds and walked commissioners through program operations. "As of July 2024, there's only 78 withdrawal-management beds in whole San Diego County," said Shantalyn Lau, a program manager involved with detox and outreach work, urging the commission to approve the request.

Action and next steps

The commission voted to recommend approval of the CUP modification to City Council, with two corrections to the draft conditions of approval (as noted by staff): (1) the withdrawal-management services capacity in the conditions should be amended to 59 clients per night, and (2) morning meal services in the conditions should be provided every day from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. The commission also asked staff to include in the council report the planning commissioners’ discussion that city council consider whether to provide greater operational flexibility in how the operator may use permitted beds in response to evolving funding and service needs.

Votes at a glance

Motion: Recommend that City Council approve Resolution 2025-03 to modify Interfaith Community Services' conditional use permit at 550 West Washington to allow expanded withdrawal-management services (change emergency shelter beds to withdrawal-management beds and related conditions, with typographical corrections as noted). Mover and seconder recorded on the hearing record; roll-call vote recorded as: Vice Chair Barber — yes; Commissioner Mercaro — yes; Commissioner Spear — no; Chair Wyler — yes; Commissioner Jester — yes; Commissioner Stevie — yes; Commissioner Currell — yes. Outcome: recommend approval to council.

Limits and context

• Staff determined the project is exempt from CEQA under Guideline §15301 for existing facilities and change of use that does not expand residential capacity. • Interfaith said the county contract (Drug Medi-Cal / county behavioral health funding) and federal SAMHSA funds would pay for the expanded withdrawal-management program; the county contract cited by Interfaith begins Feb. 24, 2025 and is described as a five‑year agreement. • Staff noted the site has been subject to multiple historical CUPs and recent city-initiated review; staff, police and the homelessness subcommittee of council all participated in the consolidation that led to the current draft.

Sources: Staff presentation by Alex Rangel; applicant presentation by Greg Angel, CEO of Interfaith Community Services; public testimony and the Jan. 28 planning commission transcript.