From Chula Vista’s southeast region, it’s hard not to see why the city expects unprecedented population growth by the end of this decade.
Otay Ranch, alone, has added housing, parks, businesses and an elementary school. Underway are dozens more new homes, a state-of-the-art library complex with San Diego State University programming and another fire station. Couple that with the newest, premiere convention resort on the West Coast opening on the bayfront in May.
Citing the likely surge in traffic and calls for service, city leaders last month approved hiring a half-dozen police officers.
But as Chula Vista’s population nears 300,000, many believe the city should go a step further: build a second police station.
On Tuesday, that idea picked up some momentum. District 3 City Councilmember Michael Inzunza successfully proposed that city staff research what building a substation on the east side would cost.
“I’ve spoken to 30,000 people in the last two years, and this is the No. 1 priority in east Chula Vista,” said Inzunza, who was elected in November to serve most of that area.
Some of his colleagues, however, cautioned whether conducting a feasibility study was the right first step.
“My concern is that we’re putting the cart before the horse,” said Councilmember Cesar Fernandez. “Does the community actually want to see a substation or do they want more officers on the ground?”
That’s a question Police Chief Roxana Kennedy wants answered, too.
A substation or more police officers?
Substation or not, the police department is outgrowing its 21-year-old, 150,000-square-foot headquarters on Fourth Avenue and F Street on the west side.
“We’re estimating that within five years, we’re not going to be able to fit here anymore,” said Kennedy.
“We’re already having challenges with parking; we ran out of lockers,” she added. “We’ve had to move some of our training to other locations throughout the city. We’re definitely feeling the challenges of growth.”
Since her appointment in December 2016 as the city’s 24th police chief, Kennedy has seen her department grow from 227 officers to 297 for a population of about 274,000. Despite challenges with retention, she’s proud of the overall growth largely thanks to Measure A, the half-cent sales tax funding public safety staffing and services. But Kenndey worries the city’s expansion is fast outpacing the department’s own growth.
According to a 2023 San Diego Association of Governments report, Chula Vista has one of the lowest officer-to-population ratios in the county. In fiscal year 2021-22, the city and Escondido tied for the lowest with 1.05 sworn officers per 1,000 residents. The regionwide per capita rate of sworn officers was 1.3. Chula Vista would need more than 70 new officers for a population of its size, Kennedy said.
Last month, she received the council’s blessing to spend $1.12 million in Measure A funds to hire a police captain and six officers, cover overtime pay, purchase four patrol vehicles and equipment storage lockers and continue having community services officers. And on Tuesday, officials agreed to look into hiring more officers.
For Inzunza and Mayor John McCann, who has also long envisioned a substation on the east side, particularly in fast-growing Otay Ranch, the time to explore expanding the police department is now.
“When you have a region like east Chula Vista that’s growing really fast, it comes with growing pains: increased traffic, density growth and an increase in crime,” said Inzunza. “It’s imperative that we actually place a police substation sooner rather than later.”
Kennedy said she doesn’t oppose opening a substation but wants to know what such a facility “would do for you.” Does the public want to see more officers on the streets? Do they want more traffic tickets written? Do they want a place to file or obtain a report?
If it’s more boots on the ground, that’s a different conversation, she said.
“They don’t understand that (having a substation) might take away from having more officers because of the costs,” she added.
Sherri Mannello has seen her community of Otay Ranch dramatically grow in the last decade. A substation there would be a “win-win not only for the welfare of your officers, but for your residents because they’re going to get a police officer a lot quicker.” She was a former deputy sheriff in Orange County assigned to a substation.
“When I was in San Clemente, we ran into the same issue because San Clemente was getting a lot larger and our response times were starting to be like 10 minutes,” she said. “It made a difference. If the money is there and Chula Vista can make it happen, then they need to do something.”
Mannello also thinks a substation will save officers a ride across the city to write reports.
“Everybody thinks that we sit in our police cars and we write police reports,” she said. “But (officers) need access to printers, a place for records keeping and if they’re on the east side they have to spend another 15 minutes, 20 minutes driving to the west side.”
The majority of calls for service come from the city’s westside neighborhoods, but communities in the city’s southeast region have seen about a 7% increase in calls for service during fiscal year 2023-24, according to the department.
The police department is meeting its 6-minute response time goal for the most urgent and life-threatening calls but is seeing delays of more than 2 minutes for urgent calls that don’t involve an immediate threat.
Kennedy said she’s prioritizing improving response times, increasing staffing and looking at other short-term solutions while city leaders explore the potential for a substation.
One area she’s thinking about is a small storefront the department has occupied at the Otay Ranch Town Center mall since 2011. It’s staffed depending on volunteer availability and it’s a place where senior volunteer patrol staff can help answer questions the public may have, such as how to file a report. But oftentimes, the public is referred to headquarters or the department’s main phone line.
“We’re working on a strategy to make it more beneficial,” said Kennedy, adding that she hopes to add more community service officers, operation hours and perhaps diversify services.
A potential location
An undeveloped plot along the intersection of La Media Road and Santa Luna in Otay Ranch would be an ideal location for a substation, several officials said.
The area is part of multiple land holdings, or “villages,” HomeFed Corp. owns and envisions developing into housing, commercial spaces and parks.
“This is one of the fastest growing areas in our city,” said McCann.
The area is growing so fast that Chula Vista is building a temporary fire station along that same intersection to accommodate the hundreds of new homes built in what’s known as Village 8 West.
McCann envisions building out the area to keep the fire station and build a substation, as well as recreation and aquatics centers. He said he has pitched the idea to city staff but official talks about how to fund such a civic center are not even on the table.
Assistant City Manager Tiffany Allen declined an interview and said, “The idea of developing an eastern civic center, including a police substation, is still in the very early conceptual stages.”
The funding could come from grants, development impact fees and long-term financing options, elected officials said.
Inzunza said he would like city staff to report back with their findings by the end of summer.
Kennedy said she welcomes feedback from the public on how to improve the Otay Ranch mall storefront and what they would like to see from a substation. Feedback can be submitted on the department’s contact page.
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