A 40-yard green dumpster sits in front of 1461 Hilger in Encanto. Trash and debris tower over the railing. Less than 40 feet below sits a dilapidated wooden shed, or, as neighbors describe it, the makeshift garage where stolen cars are stored and disassembled throughout the night. The two-story house on the other side of the dumpster is littered with appliances and trash. At least, that was the scene at the home until Wednesday morning, when the property owner, San Diego police and code enforcement officers executed a massive clean-up on the property two days after Times of San Diego asked for comment on the derelict property. Squatters had been living there and engaging in lawless behavior for nearly 8 months, neighbors say. The home, and a neighboring property that was also occupied by squatters, are owned by a company formed by Christian Spicer, whose companies have been at the forefront of capitalizing on the city of San Diego’s accessory dwelling unit regulations, which are among the most permissive in all of California.His companies have specialized in converting single-family properties into large apartment complexes, capitalizing on the city’s ADU rules. That includes the Chalcifica project in Pacific Beach, which would have turned two parcels into 136 units. In an investor brochure for SDRE, Spicer’s company, before he rebranded it to Infill Innovation, the ADU developer promoted his plans to convert 53 single-family homes spread throughout San Diego into 1,178 total units. The total cost to acquire the 53 properties, according to the brochure, was just under $62.8 million. If all of his projects were built according to plan, Spicer predicted revenue from adding the 1,100-plus ADUs would be more than $538.8 million, a 750 percent increase.But Spicer’s plan hit snags. Residents in Encanto, Pacific Beach, and the College Area pushed back, delaying the projects from starting, and in some cases, such as the Chalcifica project in Pacific Beach, the projects wound up in court, where a judge temporarily halted the project from moving forward until a trial is held.As more than a dozen of Spicer and his affiliated company’s projects sat, some investors grew concerned. At least 10 investors have since sued, the most recent a retiree who fears his investment of $812,000 for an ADU project in Encanto has vanished, destroying his hopes to provide a trust fund for his disabled son after he is gone. While some investors have taken legal action, many neighbors who live near properties owned by Infill Innovation say their quality of life has taken a hit. Many say they have watched squatters move into the vacant homes and bring with them drug use, sex trafficking and stolen car rings. Residents have called police dozens of times to report what is happening, but in many cases, nothing can be done to permanently solve the issue.
Squatters in Encanto
In December 2025, Encanto resident Krista Fishman watched a group of squatters move into two adjacent homes near her property.In the following weeks, Fishman says she saw them take up residence as if it were their own, hanging Christmas lights, parking their cars on the driveway and filling up an empty pool on one of the properties.
Fishman and her surrounding neighbors told Times of San Diego that it wasn’t long until they watched her new neighbors turn the homes into makeshift brothels, turn outdoor sheds into chop shops to dismantle stolen cars and a place where rampant drug activity was conducted in plain sight.“I saw a two or three-year-old girl, just standing in the middle of the road one day,” said Fishman, who was joined by another neighbor who sat with the toddler for hours until workers from Child Welfare Services arrived. The girl was reunited with her family, but different issues at the properties arise daily.“I see carloads of women getting dropped off and then men driving up and parking,” said Fishman. “It’s obvious what is happening.”Neighbor Eric Becerra saw cars drop off women dressed in mini-skirts, knee-high boots and revealing tank-tops at the property — minutes later, he saw cars park along the driveway and called the police, suspecting sex traffic was taking place inside.Neighbors say that neither Infill Innovation, their city council member, the police, nor the city has done anything to keep them safe for the nearly eight months they watched and witnessed as their neighborhood deteriorated. San Diego police dispatch received 37 calls for service since January. The calls range from criminal trespass to robbery, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, disturbing the peace, narcotics, and a call reporting a lost juvenile, among others.“They have harassed me. They have threatened me. They have assaulted me. What else can they do?” said Fishman. “Should I just sell all my property and get out of here? And I’m like, ‘No, this is my home. I don’t want to leave here.’ I am going to try my hardest and stick in here and fight this, hopefully with help from the city and my councilmember.”Lisa Becerra lives on an adjacent street. A driveway near her home is one of two access points to the two Infill properties. Becerra and her husband have had their car broken into, and work equipment stolen. They have called police numerous times, the most recent call was to report three stolen cars, a black mini-cooper and two Integras that tenants on the property tried to conceal in and around a small and dilapidated wooden shed. Becerra and neighbors witnessed men disassembling the cars for parts.
Photo of shed where suspected stolen cars were stored. (Photo by Dorian Hargrove/Times of San Diego)“They immediately pull the cars in, and they cover them with a tarp. It doesn’t take much more to know the cars are stolen,” said Becerra. “Police came out the next day and removed the cars.”
Photo of suspected stolen cars. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Becerra)On July 13, Times of San Diego toured the properties with Fishman and spoke to some of the residents at the property on Hilger Street. When asked if they were on the property illegally, a young woman, one of five people who emerged from inside the home, said they were renting the property and had a lease. They were unwilling to provide information on their landlord. Following the visit, Times of San Diego reached out to Infill Innovations and its CEO, Brian Doyle, who took over for Christian Spicer following the creation of Infill Innovation, to inform the company and its CEO of the condition of the property and to ask about any planned attempts to address the situation. The following day, Doyle sent an email informing Times of San Diego that employees had toured the property with city code enforcement officers and would board up the homes the following day. At 9:30 a.m., on July 14, the day following Doyle’s email, Fishman stood across the street from one of the homes as one of her squatter neighbors filled a white minivan’s tires with air.“They have been packing up. Crews are at the other house, boarding it up. Some people have already left,” said Fishman, with tears welling up in her eyes.Hours later, several San Diego Police cars filled Hilger Street, making sure the squatters vacated the properties.“We have tears of relief and see hope at the end of the tunnel,” wrote neighbor Lisa Becerra in a text.By the end of the day, both properties had been boarded up. The illegal tenants had packed up three carloads of materials and left the property. Neighbors sent photos to Times of San Diego of a police helicopter patrolling the area, with three police cruisers stationed at one of the homes.
Photo of Hilger property boarded up (Photo courtesy of Krista Fishman)The Other Properties
Residents across San Diego are experiencing similar situations at other vacant Infill Innovations properties.Times of San Diego spoke to other residents who watched as Infill properties sat vacant, fell into disrepair, and, in some cases, were used as a residence for squatters. In some cases, neighbors awoke to fires at the property or walked out to the street to find their cars or their neighbors’ cars broken into.that several people cut through a chain-link fence at a vacant property and took up residence in a small shed. Over the next few weeks, the neighbor said cars were broken into, and the squatters started a fire on the property. Similar accounts have been documented at Infill properties in Chollas View, in Skyline and in Southcrest.In an email to Times of San Diego, Doyle said his company is working to resolve the issues.“We are aware of these concerns and, as has always been the case, we continue to actively maintain all of our properties,” he wrote. “We have filed Letters of Agency, LOAs, on these properties with the SDPD. Each time we see unauthorized occupants in our properties or are notified by neighbors of this condition, we contact SDPD to remove them.”“We will continue to aggressively monitor our properties and deal with any problems accordingly. I realize neighbors have questions and concerns about our properties, and since taking over as CEO, I have been willing to meet and discuss with those who have contacted us. That offer still stands.”In a statement to Times of San Diego, Councilmember Henry Foster III, whose district includes Encanto, vowed to work with the neighbors to make sure the property owner is held accountable.“Residents deserve to feel safe in their neighborhoods, and it is not acceptable for properties to become ongoing public safety concerns,” Foster said. “Property owners have a responsibility to maintain their properties and prevent conditions that negatively impact surrounding communities. My office will continue working with residents and city partners to identify solutions, address these nuisances, and ensure the community’s concerns are heard.”City spokesperson Richard Berg told Times of San Diego that the city’s code compliance workers have drafted notices of violation for the two Encanto properties. Berg said code compliance has been aware of the situation and has met with Infill Innovations to tour the two properties. The City’s Building and Land Use Enforcement division (BLUE) opened cases at both 1461 and 1445 Hilger St. after receiving complaints on May 18, 2026. BLUE performed an initial inspection to assess the property (though did not enter) on May 20.Berg said a representative from Infill stated they had contacted SDPD regarding trespassing at [one of the Hilger properties] and expressed their intent to shut down power and to board up the property by June 15. When the property was next visited on June 29, no corrections were observed.” While the group of Encanto neighbors expressed relief after seeing the homes boarded up, one neighbor said she feared what would happen next at the properties next door to her house. “This is what we are worried will happen now,” wrote Encanto resident Becerra in a text message, attaching a photo of a barren lot where a home once stood in Encanto, also one of Spicer’s umbrella of properties, which had burned to the ground.
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