The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors recently moved forward with supporting the continued development of the City of San Luis Obispo’s Safe Parking ordinance.
The current pilot program, which provides five parking spaces, is operating on a temporary basis at the Prado Day Center. The new ordinance will legalize the program in other parts of the city on a long-term basis, according to Tyler Corey, housing program manager with the City of San Luis Obispo.
The City’s safe parking program, which received a six-month extension last October, is intended to provide homeless individuals and families with vehicles a safe, legal place to temporarily park overnight and help assist in a transition into permanent housing.
Under the new ordinance local property owners, including faith-based organizations and businesses could host a safe parking facility if they partner with a social service provider, such as the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County (CASPSLO), to manage the program and ensure that the standards and requirements set forth in the ordinance are followed.
The draft ordinance, which lays the groundwork for the expansion of the current temporary program, was brought before the SLO Chamber’s Issues Evaluation Committee and thoroughly vetted before the discussion was brought to the Chamber Board of Directors.
The SLO Chamber’s volunteer Issues Evaluation Committee, which analyzes and evaluates near-term topics that affect business, hosted speakers and presentations on both sides of the issue, including Corey, Dee Torres, homeless services coordinator for CAPSLO, and Janna Nichols, executive director of the 5Cities Homeless Coalition.
“The program does appear to fill an important role,” said Blue Rooster Telecom President Jeff Buckingham, chair of the Issues Evaluation Committee. “The presenters gave us lots of background on the homeless parking issue and we could see that a lot had been learned from our experience and the experience of other cities.”
“Even though the safe parking program is not a solution for most homeless families it still plays an important role in the overall services available,” added Buckingham.
The Chamber is supportive of participation standards that include case management, background checks, an alcohol and drug-free environment and a preference for local residents. The Chamber also wants to see time limits for participation to be established and that any newly proposed expansion sites are carefully considered.
“It was clear that the current safe parking program was in the early stages, but the initial results were positive,” said Digital West Founder and CEO Tim Williams, chair of the Chamber’s Legislative Division. “The Chamber supported the efforts of the City and the homeless services of CAPSLO and felt the impact will benefit the community and the people within the program.”
The draft ordinance includes certain criteria that participants must abide by while in the program.
Those criteria include the participant being paired with a case manager and enrolled in a program to help transition into permanent housing. The participant must also submit to a criminal history background check that will be examined by a social service provider and considered on a case-by-case basis. Preference will be given to those who can provide proof of SLO residency for a minimum of six months.
Participants in the program must also sign an agreement that states that they will not possess any drugs, alcohol or weapons or firearms of any kind.
The draft ordinance will be heard by the City’s Human Relations Commission on June 5. It will then go before the City Planning Commission on June 26 before coming back to the City Council on Aug. 20.