CARLSBAD — The Carlsbad City Council agreed on March 12 to increase security at both Windsor Pointe low-income housing sites after months of complaints, increased disturbances and safety concerns.
The council’s decision comes after months of complaints and reports to law enforcement from neighboring residents about drugs, crime and mental health concerns at Windsor Pointe, a 50-unit development with units located on Harding Street and Oak Avenue.
“My family, including my beautiful wife and two young boys, moved into our home in the Barrio nine years ago when my oldest son was just one,” said Barrio resident Ross Stensrud during Tuesday’s meeting. “Within two weeks of opening Windsor Pointe, a convicted sex offender started living there. He’s regularly seen around the Village in the Barrio, usually shirtless and yelling at people and things. It’s a disturbance, and it’s a safety threat.”
Windsor Pointe was initially pitched and designed solely to provide supportive housing for low-income military veterans and their families in 2020. The city contributed $8.3 million to help pay the construction costs by purchasing the land and leasing it back to Affirmed Housing.
However, developer Affirmed Housing could not secure state funding for a veterans-only site, prompting the builder to seek other resources. Eventually, the company secured $10.1 million from the county’s No Place Like Home program.
The county funding required the project to allow housing for individuals with serious mental illnesses, such as major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder, prompting immediate backlash from nearby residents.
“The residents are furious,” said Denis Jensen in 2020. “We laid out our concerns several times. It’s a total bait-and-switch.”
For council members, the current state of Windsor Pointe is not what they envisioned when they voted to approve the project two years earlier.
“How in the world was I going to say no to helping our homeless veterans, especially those who have some issues that are creating some of their homelessness issues? So I voted proudly to say yes to the project,” Mayor Keith Blackburn said. “Somehow, through the months and years, it morphed into something that, had I known it was going to be this, I would have absolutely voted no.”
Mayor Keith Blackburn accepted responsibility for the project’s gradual shift from a housing project with good intentions to a problem that some believe is worth closing down.
“But I voted yes, and this is partially because of my vote,” Blackburn said. “So now, my job is to ensure that I protect the quality of life of those residents who are now adversely affected by this project.”
Since opening in spring 2022, Windsor Pointe has drawn considerable attention from the Carlsbad Police Department, logging 762 service calls, according to law enforcement data.
Among the 48 residents of Windsor Pointe, seven accounted for over half (53%) of the 401 service calls received. Mental health-related issues and welfare checks comprised 44% of the calls, but only 3.6% necessitated mandatory mental health evaluations, the city’s data shows.
Approximately 2.5% of the calls resulted in arrests, with eight out of 19 individuals arrested being guests, not residents, of Windsor Pointe. Domestic violence calls accounted for 2.7% of the calls, with six arrests made among the 21 incidents, including multiple occurrences within the same units. Four drug-related arrests were also recorded.
Twenty-four of the units provide affordable housing for low-income households with a veteran and local affiliation, and another 24 units offer permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals with a severe mental illness diagnosis.
Police Chief Mickey Williams suggested placing two management representatives at each facility to help lower crime and disturbances at both Windsor Pointe’s downtown Barrio locations by providing residents with a reliable and easy-to-contact resource.
City staff, Affirmed Housing, ConAm (the property’s manager), and the county’s Behavioral Health and Housing & Community Development departments are working together to address concerns at Windsor Pointe. Changes include increased onsite security with one guard present for 12 hours each night, expanded 24/7 video surveillance, and enhanced onsite supportive services.
The police department also meets weekly with ConAm staff to monitor and address concerns, and they are working to establish a line of communication between affected neighbors and onsite management.
Carlsbad has approximately 2,300 affordable housing units, 268 in the Barrio, including the 50 units at Windsor Pointe.
