SAN DIEGO — The City of San Diego is advancing plans for a designated parking lot that will provide safe and lawful vehicle camping for those experiencing homelessness.
On Wednesday, the City Council’s Rules Committee pushed forward a proposal to open a new “safe parking lot” in the Clairemont neighborhood that will include live-in-ready campers.
The committee unanimously voted to amend a contract with Jewish Family Service of San Diego to operate the new lot, which is meant to provide free and safe parking for people who sleep in their vehicles overnight.
“Safe parking is a tool that can keep people from losing their home of last resort and winding up on our streets,” said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. “This program expansion will put to good use the trailers provided to us by the state and give folks more space to live while they work to find permanent housing.”
The new lot, if approved, would be located near the Rose Canyon Operations Yard.
According to the city, it will have 15 spaces for parking and will include 12 camper trailers for people to live in as they work to get themselves out of homelessness.
The trailers, which were provided by the state as part of its emergency response to the homelessness crisis, are equipped with beds, showers and bathrooms.
Officials say it will operate 24-hours a day and will also give unhoused residents access to services that may help them secure employment and gain financial stability.
This will mark the fourth “safe parking lot” under contract with the city. The four lots combined will provide parking spaces for up to 233 households sleeping in standard vehicles and RVs, plus the 12 campers.
According to the city, the new lot is expected to cost $474,000 through the end of June and approximately $975,000 annually. The proposal is part Mayor Gloria’s comprehensive strategy to address homelessness.
More information about the Safe Parking Program can be found here.
The proposal, recommended City Council’s Rules Committee, will be considered by the full City Council next week.
