San Dimas details outreach, partnerships and stepped-up enforcement as residents press for faster action

San Dimas City leaders on May 26 laid out how the city’s housing staff, contracted outreach teams and Los Angeles County sheriff’s Community Action Team (CAT) are working together to connect people living on the streets to services while increasing enforcement where laws are broken.

Housing Manager Lily Flores told the council the city has kept a local housing services team in place since 2022, gained direct access to the regional Homeless Management Information System in 2023, and used Measure A and PLHA funds to provide rental assistance and case management. “We provided $200,000 worth of assistance in fiscal year 24–25,” Flores said, and staff have used funds to place seniors in 16 months of rental assistance and to support rapid rehousing placements.

Sandra Chacon, the city’s housing services coordinator, described how the outreach workflow operates: outreach workers David Morales and Aaron Mula engage people Monday–Friday, put willing clients into the CES/HMIS referral system and, when a bed is available, physically transport clients to shelter or interim housing. “At every interaction we provide information and when someone accepts, we complete the referral and follow through,” Chacon said.

Michael Rubio of Los Angeles Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse (LA CADA), the city’s outreach provider, summarized the agency’s services—street-based engagement, substance-use treatment placements and recovery bridge housing funded through Medi‑Cal—and reported interim housing placements and hundreds of housing-navigation contacts over the last year.

LASD representatives described the sheriff’s role in the response. Captain Moen and Deputy Ryan Rodriguez explained that the CAT team conducts targeted patrols paid for by the city, treats homelessness as a public‑safety and health issue, and typically emphasizes referrals over arrest. “We advise individuals of any code violations,” Rodriguez said, “we determine whether there are violations of penal or health-and-safety codes, and we will contact outreach teams to offer services.” Deputies warned that misdemeanor arrests often require the crime to be committed in an officer’s presence unless a letter of agency from a private property owner authorizes police action.

Councilmembers pressed for clearer metrics and data sharing. Several asked how many referrals LASD makes to outreach staff and whether the outreach teams’ counts align with LASD’s incident tallies. Staff said weekly encounter logs and a text thread among housing staff and LA CADA provide near-real-time operational awareness, and the city will request more granular referral counts from LASD for a future meeting.

Residents urged faster weekend response and better coordination with Caltrans, which owns many freeway ramp right-of-ways where encampments commonly appear. Business owners reported vandalism and drug dealing near pumps and car-wash tunnels; one said deputies said the conduct they observed amounted to misdemeanors that deputies could not necessarily pursue without additional legal tools.

Councilmembers and staff directed a series of next steps: look at weekend coverage options (including whether outreach or parking enforcement can triage GoGov reports coming in outside business hours); ask LASD for referral and enforcement metrics; explore better Caltrans coordination for encampments on state property; and consider targeted technology pilots that might help capture evidence of crimes where appropriate.

The council emphasized a two-track approach: persistently offer outreach and services while ensuring enforcement tools are available for repeated violations or conduct that threatens public safety. The next procedural step is a follow-up staff report with more data on referrals and a study-session to examine enforcement options, technology pilots and jurisdictional coordination.