The San Diego City Council has a lot on its plate.

From the debate over Short-Term vacation rentals, to the Hepatitis A outbreak and homeless crisis, several critical civic issues are coming to the surface for the city council to consider.

Council President Pro Tem Mark Kersey joined the IVN San Diego Podcast this week to discuss a few of the pressing matters impacting the City.

Kersey answered questions on a variety of subjects including the push to legalize short-term vacation rentals, the concerns he has regarding the homeless crisis that has so far, claimed 17 lives, and the issue with his colleague Chris Cate and the confidential memo Mr. Cate shared with a consultant working on the controversial Soccer City development project.

SHORT-TERM RENTALS

A bipartisan group of four council members that includes Council President Pro Tem Kersey, have produced a document that would legalize short-term vacation rentals in the City of San Diego. Kersey told IVN San Diego, “we need to establish a regulatory framework that actually codifies things that need to be dealt with when it comes to this industry.”

The Short-Term vacation rental issue will go before the council in late October.

HOMELESS CRISIS

The Hepatitis A crisis has claimed the lives of 17 people and hospitalized close to 400. Most of those impacted live as part of our community’s homeless population.

As Council President Pro Tem Kersey noted, it’s a difficult issue to solve and importantly, the city just announced a new tent community in Balboa Park that will service some 200 homeless. Mr. Kersey told IVN San Diego, “it’s a humanitarian issue and and we’ve got a lot of fellow San Diegans who are out there on the streets and sidewalks suffering and so we all recognize we need to do more.”

More tents are being erected around the city starting in December.

CHRIS CATE CONFIDENTIAL MEMO CONCERNS

It was announced recently that City Councilman Chris Cate was the person who leaked the confidential memo that had sensitive information regarding the City of San Diego’s bargaining position as it relates to the Soccer City project in Mission Valley.

Council President Pro Tem Mark Kersey admitted to IVN San Diego the news caught him a little off guard, “Chris is a good friend and colleague and this came as a surprise when the news broke about this yesterday. He’s offered his explanation, and I don’t think he was ill intentioned when he did what he did with that memo.”