Residents urge Ontario council to address homelessness, ICE activity and short‑term rental impacts

A stream of public commenters at the Ontario City Council meeting on Sept. 2 pressed elected officials to act on homelessness, recent federal immigration enforcement in the city, and neighborhood impacts tied to short‑term rentals.

Teresa McCloskey told the council she is "deeply, deeply concerned" about rental properties and short‑term rentals (Airbnbs) that she said create parking, occupancy and maintenance problems in residential neighborhoods. "I just think that there needs to be some ordinances in regards to Airbnbs," she said, urging the city to hold operators and property managers accountable.

Several speakers asked the city to respond to federal immigration enforcement activity. Priscilla Garcia asked for transparency and a full report about July 21 incidents at Vesta and a Stater Brothers parking lot and urged the creation of a legal‑defense and living‑expense fund for affected immigrant families. "Ultimately, the city should become a sanctuary city," Garcia said. Others, including Roxanne Bautista and Laura Saint Martin, described fear among Hispanic and brown residents and urged the council to refrain from policies that they said increase vulnerability.

Marty McBride cited the San Bernardino County homeless count, saying the county total rose from 2,118 to 4,255 since 2018 and that Ontario had 197 unhoused people in 2024 with 163 unsheltered. McBride urged the council to pursue wraparound supportive housing rather than criminalizing homelessness: "This is not an issue that will go away if we ignore it or we make it illegal."

Some commenters thanked the Ontario Police Department for recent responses. Jasmine Chavez said officers handled a recent search‑warrant operation professionally and commended their conduct.

Council acknowledged the breadth of concerns and directed city staff to follow up in several instances. After Teresa McCloskey raised neighborhood maintenance and parking issues, the chair asked the city manager if someone could speak with her immediately; city staff identified Dr. Guerrero from Community Improvement as the city contact who "can address a number of those concerns." On homelessness, council members noted a new transitional campus project modeled after Victorville that city staff said is expected to provide roughly 160 transitional beds and supportive services and that some elements should be available by the end of October.

Speakers offered a range of remedies — new ordinances and enforcement, a local assistance fund, enhanced patrols and more visible public reporting — and many asked the council to prioritize transparency about enforcement actions and to allocate resources to affected residents. The council did not adopt new policy at the meeting; public comments were referred to appropriate staff and departments for follow‑up.