Safe overnight parking for homeless people living out of their vehicles will return to the city of San Luis Obispo—this time with blessings from faith groups and most of the public.
The SLO Planning Commission greenlit five sites for a rotating safe parking site almost a year-and-a-half after city and Community Action Partnership SLO officials pushed similar plans to the backburner. The original proposal for a rotating site—specifically, one planned location several hundred feet away from a primarily residential neighborhood on Palm Street—was unpopular. Many residents complained that the city failed to alert them on time.
The reworked proposal, which now includes spots at Journey Christian Fellowship, Renovate Church, and synagogue Congregation Beth David that’s outside of city limits, received SLO Planning Commission approval on Jan. 22.
“I’m not exactly a God-fearing person but I think this is religion at its best,” Vice Chair David Houghton said at the meeting. “I applaud our faith community for stepping up and participating in this and being willing to do this.”
Commissioners approved a permit for five city-based sites located at the two churches, Calle Joaquin Park and Ride, the city corporation yard at 25 Prado Road, and the Damon Garcia Sports Complex. The permit awards SLO Director of Community Development Timothea Tway the discretion to approve future rotating safe parking sites since the city eventually wants to set up a dozen of them.
To boost transparency and public cooperation, Commissioner Houghton requested that Tway bring the next round of proposed sites before the commission for a public hearing.
He added that there were only a few negative comments about the new safe parking plan—a marked difference from when the previous version of the proposal came before the Planning Commission.
The new safe parking plan hits several quadrants on the map of SLO, and the CAPSLO program’s neighboring 25 Prado site rests close to the center.
One of the locations on that map is Congregation Beth David. Homelessness Response Manager Daisy Wiberg told New Times that this sixth location doesn’t require city permit approval because it lies outside SLO’s boundaries.
“The city and CAPSLO are currently working with the county’s Planning Department to determine any county permitting needs for that site,” she said.
In 2023, officials developed the initial iteration of a rotating safe parking site in SLO once they decided to shutter the Railroad Square parking program. There are currently 163 households on the waitlist for the CAPSLO-run 40 Prado safe parking program.
Jack Lahey, CAPSLO’s director of homeless services, told commissioners that the initial conversation with interested program participants is diversion.
“We work as hard as we can not to enroll them in our services so we can make sure there’s any family we can connect them, any friends, any stability network,” he said. “We allocate resources for that … bus tickets, train tickets, gas cards, vehicle repair.”
If that stability connection can’t be made, the enrollment process for the 12-space 40 Prado program begins with a U.S. Housing and Urban Development intake, a behavior contract, and a background check. With no on-site registration available, interested participants must already be engaged with CAPSLO either by reaching out for help themselves or connecting with outreach teams.
The enrolled participants will be referred to the proposed rotating safe parking model only if CAPSLO observes that they are adhering to 40 Prado’s rules and engaging with their case manager. Lahey added that CAPSLO doesn’t plan on publishing the rotation schedule of sites, either.
Unlike the last attempted pilot program rollout, the city and CAPSLO also involved the public earlier in the process.
The nonprofit held a community information session on Jan. 15, prior to the Planning Commission meeting. Property owners, tenants, and neighboring businesses got the chance to ask questions and air concerns. According to the city staff report, notices for the session were also mailed to all tenants and property owners within 300 feet of each proposed rotating site.
Sites are expected to switch monthly. The faith-based locations will host participants twice a year, though the initial agreement is for one month each.
Funding gaps now prevent the program from becoming an immediate reality. City staff will recommend a portion of the required funding for the SLO budget in the next two-year financial plan. CAPSLO plans to apply for grant money to foot the remaining cost.
“Implementation of the program is dependent on CAPSLO confirming funding sources,” SLO Homeless Response Manager Wiberg told New Times. “Once funding is confirmed, CAPSLO will work with each of the host sites to confirm the rotating schedule.” Δ
This article appears in Jan 30 – Feb 9, 2025.