San Luis Obispo and its partners are looking for missing pieces to the safe parking puzzle before they officially open a site for the homeless.
City officials and the Community Action Partnership of SLO County (CAPSLO) emerged from a flurry of criticism levied by some Palm Street residents to announce that the proposed safe parking site program is on pause.
Originally, the city planned to open a rotating safe parking program in SLO starting with a site on a strip of Palm Street. But this vexed the residents living within 300 feet of the proposed spot. They claimed that the city didn’t alert them soon enough, and an influx of angry comments and letters compelled Director of Community Development Timothea Tway to relay the parking site confirmation decision to the SLO Planning Commission.
By the time the commission assembled on Sept. 6 to discuss the issue, CAPSLO had already withdrawn its application for Palm Street, compelling stakeholders to return to the drawing board.
Jack Lahey, CAPSLO’s director of homeless services, told New Times it could take up to a year before a rotating safe parking program is set up.
“At the end of the day, we don’t want to be perceived as this hostile thing in the community,” he said. “We want the experience to be mutually beneficial.”
Lahey added that while public feedback played a role in influencing CAPSLO’s application withdrawal, a larger factor existed.
“We only had one site identified, and we wanted a rotating model of sites,” Lahey said. “We need six minimum to get going, and ideally 12 or more.”
Bolstered by a $60,000 allocation in the city’s 2023-25 financial plan, CAPSLO and SLO are now in talks with different faith-based groups like SLO Naz Church to set up safe parking programs on parts of their sites. CAPSLO has a long-standing history of working with such groups.
Before it opened the 40 Prado Homeless Services Center in 2018, CAPSLO partnered with roughly 13 faith communities, including SLO Naz, to provide overflow sheltering on a rotating basis. On Sept. 20, SLO Naz, its neighboring residents, CAPSLO, city officials, and members of the homeless community who are interested in participating in the proposed safe parking program met for an informational session.
One of people interested in engaging safe parking services is 41-year-old Johnny Smith. Smith and his dog used to shelter at the Railroad Square safe parking site in his vehicle until that program closed in August.
“A big misconception was people getting the Railroad Square [participants] confused with people parking there who aren’t part of the program,” Smith said.
Misinformation is something Lahey also witnessed, and it’s something CAPSLO is gearing up to address with the help of educational meetings. One of the misconceptions was people thinking SLO’s version of the rotating safe parking program was the same as the county’s controversial Oklahoma Avenue safe parking site.
“There’s confusion over what is safe parking and what it’s not,” Lahey said. “A lot got stirred up that was miscommunication.”
Both Lahey and Smith told New Times that ensuring participants’ safety is important. Smith added that while he felt safe for the most part during his time at Railroad Square, disruptions would occasionally occur because of other homeless people who’d pass through the site at night. The temporary nature of the safe parking site meant that participants must check in with their vehicles at 7 p.m. every night and leave the next morning by 7 a.m. A lot of the disturbances took place at night, Smith said. There were no security guards posted overnight.
“If there had been a security guard, it would have been different for sure … not prevented but less [incidents],” he said.
However, some SLO residents feel that the Railroad Square safe parking site was a failure in terms of safety. During public comment at the Sept. 6 Planning Commission meeting, resident Lynn Hamilton said that “police records show that 123 calls were made since October 2021 … 63 of which were made after the program reset in September 2022.”
SLO Homeless Response Manager Daisy Wiberg clarified to New Times that the total calls for service encompass the larger area that the Railroad Square safe parking site is part of and not the site alone.
“The data includes the adjacent parking lot, which offers 10-hour parking, and issues involving transient individuals and nonparticipants utilizing that area,” she said.
SLO Police Department spokesperson Christine Wallace confirmed to New Times that from October 2021 until August 2022, police responded to 39 calls at the safe parking site. From September 2022—after the city rebooted the program—to Aug. 28 this year, police responded to 46 calls. The larger area of the safe parking site experienced 125 calls for service from October 2021 to Aug. 28, 2023.
CAPSLO will also monitor who eventually participates in a safe parking program once it’s set up. Participants must first register at 40 Prado and can stay there for a few nights and up to 30 days. CAPSLO representatives will then work with the individuals to determine what program is the best fit for them. With a housing plan in mind, CAPSLO will only refer clients to the rotating safe parking program if they’re a good fit. Those safe parkers will receive a placard. Those who don’t make the cut will continue to stay at 40 Prado.
“We’re trying not to overload one neighborhood with one program,” Lahey said. “We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel.” Δ
This article appears in Sep 21 – Oct 1, 2023.