Councilmembers Pearce, Price, Andrews & Uranga Seek Report On Feasibility Of Designating Locations Where Homeless Persons Could Park and Live In Their Vehicles ("Safe Parking Program")

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(Oct. 10, 2016, 1:25 a.m.) -- Four Councilmembers (Pearce, joined by Price, Andrews and Uranga) added an item to the Oct. 11 City Council agenda that asks city management to provide a report on the feasibility of designating locations where homeless persons could park vehicles in which they live, possibly at local churches.

In their agendizing memo, the four Councilmembers write:

RECOMMENDATION: Request City Manager to draft a report on the fon the feasibility of implementing a "Safe Parking" program such as those found in the cities of Santa Barbara and Monterey Bay that would (1) move people who reside in their cars off the street and into safe spaces (2) That those locations would provide basic essential services (3) connect these individuals with programs that will work to move them into permanent housing.
Items for the report to include:
Review of best practices from other cities
Potential locations that have both parking spaces and services (Multi-service center, Churches, etc)
Identify the basic essential services that would need to be provided at locations
Number of potential parking spots
Provide 1-3 program options including their time to implement and their costs

[Scroll down for further.]

DISCUSSION:
Recent actions from the City Council to restrict the parking of RVs and oversized vehicles in Long Beach residential neighborhoods and commercial corridors to address traffic safety raised concerns about potentially criminalizing homelessness as a side effect of the restrictions. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 231 people are currently living in their vehicles in Long Beach. Legal scrutiny placed on previous RV restriction and anti-camping ordinances in other cities such as Los Angeles and Santa Cruz have demonstrated the issues that can arise when the intent of such ordinances are both 1) traffic safety and 2) ban vehicular living/removing transient individuals from public space. This is particularly true when such ordinances are enforced without providing adequate alternative locations for these individuals to sleep, as is the case in Long Beach.
Given residents' rising concern around homelessness and the city's recent emphasis on addressing our transient population in a compassionate and effective manner, the purpose of a "Safe Parking" program is to 1) address the public safety and health concerns surrounding transient individuals residing in their RVs or other vehicles in neighborhoods and along commercial corridors and 2) to provide these individuals with a safe place to sleep with basic essential services 3) connecting these individuals to wraparound services and a path to permanent housing.
Cities such as Santa Barbara, Ventura, Seattle, Monterey Bay, and San Diego have implemented successful safe parking initiatives. These cities provide lots where homeless individuals can park their RV, oversized vehicle, or car and receive services provided to them from nonprofit organizations. As of May 2016, the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is currently studying where to create a pilot program that could include safe parking.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There should be minimal fiscal impact as a result of this report. It is anticipated that this report can be generated internally, without the need for any new staff or consultants.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Approve recommendation.

The Councilmembers' agendizing memo leaves unclear if the requested report will be publicly agendized or given to the Mayor and/or Councilmembers outside of routine public view using City Hall's non-transparent "to-from-for" (TFF) memo procedure.

The Oct. 11 agenda item first became publicly visible on Friday Oct 7, instead of on Monday Oct. 3, because LB's Council-enacted Municipal Code lets three Councilmembers co-sign a statement adding agenda items as late as noon Friday prior to Tuesday's Council meeting. In this case, the three Councilmembers co-signing that statement (dated Oct. 6) were Pearce, Price and Andrews.