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With homelessness on the rise in Mountain View, city officials are rolling out new services to provide some short-term relief for the people living in vehicles.
In recent days, Mountain View launched a new waste dumping service for those living out of motorhomes and RVs parked on the streets. A couple weeks ago, outreach staff from the city and Community Services Agency began passing out pamphlets and vouchers for free waste dumping to all the inhabited RVs, motorhomes and other vehicles they could find. The free program is off to a slow start, but city officials expect more usage as more people learn about it.
Emptying septic tanks can be an expensive and complicated chore for people living in motorhomes. With no dumping facility available in Mountain View, people had to travel out of town and pay for the services at facilities in Redwood City or Gilroy, at a cost of about $50 per pump. They could alternatively hire a mobile septic truck to come out, but it would cost roughly the same amount.
A total of 124 vouchers were handed out across Mountain View, said Thomas Herena, who is helping manage the program through the Community Services Agency. The vouchers are numbered and matched to license plates in order to eliminate the chance that people might sell or trade them.
For now, the waste dumping service is being tested out as a pilot at Mountain View Fire Station No. 5, located near Shoreline Amphitheatre. The service is being offered twice a week: on Tuesdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The city hired the Western Site Services for $25,000 to bring a septic truck to provide free waste dumping for 24 days. Starting in March, the city plans to relocate the service to the Municipal Operations Center on North Whisman Road. The service is expected to end in April, when city officials will decide whether to continue it.
Those who use the program clearly appreciate the service, although there have been some problems, Herena said. So far, only about a dozen people have used the service since it launched on Jan. 16. Some people who received vouchers are living in vehicles that are broken down and can’t move. Other say they have scheduling problems, he said.
“So far, it’s been kind of slow,” he said. “From what I understand, people are aware it’s happening, but we don’t know how much of an impact it’s having.”
City officials have repeatedly emphasized that they want to take a compassionate approach to the growing homeless population living on the streets. In some cases, police officials have reportedly looked the other way as inhabited motorhomes and trailers have stayed put for days on end, rather than moving every 72 hours as required by law.
But when it comes to environmental hazards and pollution stemming from the vehicle encampments, city officials have taken stricter measures. Last fall, police and code enforcement officers towed two motorhomes parked along Crisanto Avenue after it was discovered they were both leaking sewage onto the street.
City officials say there are serious health concerns linked to illegal waste dumping. In recent months, there have been outbreaks of hepatitis among homeless living in Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Cruz. Health officials believe the disease’s spread was facilitated by unsanitary conditions contaminated with human waste.
Last year, the city launched a suite of new initiatives to aid the homeless, including contributing $500,000 towards permanent supportive housing and case workers. About $25,000 was put forward for special needs, such as repairs for broken-down RVs or storage costs.
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“people had to travel out of town and pay for the services at facilities”
FTFY
“people had to dump sewage on the street”
From the smells emanating from behind 99 Ranch and Nob Hill markets, I think this is a little too late. Thanks for the raw sewage RV dudes and dudettes.
Free? Ridiculous. That means Mountain View residents are paying for it. I’ll expect a discount off my next city utility bill but won’t hold my breath waiting for it.
I understand that the city is trying to make it easy for the folks who are living in RV’s to dump properly dump the sewer waste, and NOT dump it onto the city streets, but I take issue with using taxpayer dollars to fund – and in essence continue to support – the illegal camping on our city streets. Look at Shoreline Blvd., which I have heard various city council members refer to as a “gateway” to Mountain View…just last week I counted 30 camper type vehicles along a 3 block section of Shoreline. They are there night and day, day and night. Want to use Eagle Park? Forget about parking along Shoreline, because all those RV’s are blocking the parking along Shoreline.
Enforce the 72 hour parking laws. Oh, and how about requiring the developers to use local labor? I have met more than one person who parks their RVs along El Camino (or side streets) sleeps in it every weeknight and drives their pickup to their construction site every day, and then home to the valley on the weekends..
leaving their RVs parked on the street. These people don’t want to commute daily, and don’t want to pay for a hotel, so they are street camping for free, or more correctly put, at the taxpayers expense.
Stop with the enabling.
A health crisis will cost way more and emergency rooms, thankfully, cannot opt out of treating people, so this seems to be a smart move. 550,000K is for helping people, a very small portion is for the RVs. It’s a good thing to spend money on. Many people may not want their taxes to go to help people, but you do not speak for all of us. There is a lot I’d prefer my taxes not to pay for but that’s the way taxes work. Telling people to leave, pretending we live in a town where only the wealthiest live, will not solve our economic or housing problem. And for those who say they are breaking the law, I know and I don’t care. Those who don’t want to live near people down on their luck and struggling, perhaps you shuld move to a gated community with a private road.
To Nicole: I suggest you give out your address so that RV dwellers can park at your place. You can also give them access to your garbage cans for their refuse. It is called “put your money where your mouth is”. Full disclosure, I only speak for myself.
“A health crisis will cost way more and emergency rooms”
This is exactly why cities don’t allow people to live in campers on the streets.
Is this the city’s idea of a fix for the RV parking problem? Don’t they get it; people want these new age “Hoovervilles” OFF their streets! Giving these squatters a place to dump their sewage is NOT a solution to the problem. They are still breaking the law and the politically correct leftists don’t want to do anything about it. I suggest they park in front of the mayor’s house; then we’ll see some action – FAST!
Bad reporting. This is not a “free” service.
The user don’t have to pay, sure, but someone is paying for it.
According to this article we’re in it for $550,000.00 USD.
Hardly free.
All this will do is attract more RV dwellers. Other cities will probably tell their RV dwellers “Mountain View provides toilets and dump services.”
Clearly the City of Los Altos does not have this problem, you know why? They ticket illegally parked RV’s, forcing them across the border, to guess where? MOUNTAIN VIEW! So why does Mountain View have to pay the full price of dealing with this problem when the residents of leafy Los Altos enjoy their suburban lifestyle which clearly does not include homeless people illegally camping on their city streets?
I challenge you to find one news item discussing the problem of the homeless in Los Altos, a search for ‘Homeless Services Los Altos CA” brings up a number of shelters/services, not a single one in Los Altos, https://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/cgi-bin/id/city.cgi?city=Los%20Altos&state=CA That’s compassion for you.
CSA does good work but bills itself as Community Services Agency of Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, I wonder what percentage of their services go to LA and LAH? Aside from a few elderly people, my guess is none.
Where do I get one of these vouchers for free waste dumping? If the city is giving these out, then the city should give them to any resident who requests one.
Any who gave the police permission to look the other way as motorhomes and trailers are parked for days on end, rather than moving every 72 hours as the rest of us have to do and as required by law. The laws are for everyone.
$25,000 for 24 day septic service. Basically $1,000 PER DAY to vehicles that are parked illegally on our streets. HTG, when are people going to wake up around here? Shoreline looks like a run-down graveyard for broken vehicles, there is sewage being dumped in our streets.
ENOUGH. Write your council members. ENOUGH.
@Nicole, I suggest you ask one of these RVs to park in front of your house or in your driveway, since you think this isn’t a problem. Tell me when to expect that of you.
These RV dwellers dump sewage (even when given the vouchers) into the gutters and leave trash around and under their RVs. The 72 hour law is not enforced. Many never lived here or worked here, but find Mountain View is an easy mark because of lax enforcement. They are not invested in our city. We taxpayers not only are paying for their sewage and blight, but there are drug deals and prostitution going on as well – causing increased police surveillance.
Those few who are truly needy, and not just scamming our residents, could be better served once there is a complete and detailed survey of the RV dwellers to see which actual Mountain View resident is truly needy. Mountain View is being taken advantage of, and our Council needs to begin representing the actual tax-paying residents of this City, or we become the Peninsula Dumping Ground.
Let the City Council know your thoughts at citycouncil@mountainview.gov.
Where can I get a lawyer to sue the City for discrimination against people who own homes and pay for sewage service?
I find it hard to read the comments above. Where is compassion for those who are less fortunate than most of us? Mountain View has a greater surplus of funds than any of our neighbor cities and the amounts being spent to help the RV dwellers are a drop in the bucket (pun intended). Let’s be grateful for all we have and that we can, in small ways, help out those who need it at this time.
@E.S., compassion? Is it compassionate to encourage people to live without proper sewage? To encourage them to live on the streets? That’s not compassion, it’s a complete and totally misplaced ideology. One that opens the general public up to health and safety issues.
No. Your “compassion” would be better spent in shelters, or helping to create jobs. Better yet! How about educating people about the huge big world out there outside of Mountain View that is WAY more affordable to live in….gasp!
I am curious where is the funds are from? What’s the purpose of this service? To encourage more RVs illegal parking on the street? The fund should be spent to enforce the parking law/ RV law, but not to attract more RVs into Mountain View.
Sounds like we can keep sewage off the street and encourage people to move their vehicles once in a while by offering this service. Hopefully the city will continue their other efforts to get these off the streets entirely.
The comments nicely illustrate the polarization between the “progressive bleeding heart” liberals and the “tight-fisted” conservatives who don’t want their tax dollars redistributed this way.
I do not see how allowing this to continue ends well. The number of cannot be allowed to continue increasing indefinitely. It will only be harder and more trouble when the numbers of people who depend on this lifestyle increase. The longer people live this way the more complicated it will become to move them. And any city provided services, including waste removal MUST be paid for by the RV residents.
If supporting free waste removal for RVs out of the city budget seems unreasonable, imagine paying the cost of towing and disposing of the derelict RVs after the “residents” are out. Or have we already resigned ourselves to seeing them permanently lining the roads?
If you think providing services for people living in their vehicles is the long-term solution you are kidding yourself.
All this will do is attract additional vehicle dwellers.
I’ve had two RVs try to take up residence on my street. I called them into the parking enforcement line until they got the message and moved someplace else.
You have to maintain a valid California registration and move your vehicle every 3 days.
This is easily rectified if we really wanted to enforce the rules.
Eventually the numbers of vehicle dwellers will rise to the point where even the nicest tree huggers will say enough is enough and then we start towing these fools out of town.
Maybe I should move into an RV, park it in front of my house and rent out my place for 4 or 5K per month.
Sylvan Park Resident, the fact that you haven’t done so and will never do so shows that you don’t actually think it’s great to live in an RV on the street.
@LOL – How perceptive, you are right, I don’t think it is a good idea to live in an RV on the street, it is illegal.
Don’t forget to check their tires,clean the windshield and top off fuel. Maybe we can send a food truck. Don’t forget they have personal vehicles (usually 2 per RV) that need parking spaces too. It’s so nice to work hard all your life,pay properly taxes and wake up one morning to my new neighbors. I was going to rent a storage space for my RV but now that it’s ok to leave my vehicle for weeks on end and get free sewage think of all the money I will save! Thx Mountain View! By the way city council and mayor, we will remember you come voting time.
Guess what, this is a result of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court. MV City Hall states: Vehicles used for sleeping are not illegal if the vehicle complies with other laws. Enforcement of the Mountain View City Code Chapter 19, Article IX Section 19.111(c), which prohibits vehicles parked on public streets from being used for dwelling purposes has been suspended in light of recent case law on this issue. In Desertrain v. City of Los Angeles, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a similar provision of the City of Los Angeles City Code was unconstitutional. The City continues to enforce other code provisions such as vehicles parking for more than 72 hours when applicable.
@LvC,
Ooo, sounds like someone attended last night. Which of the angry old people were you?
City rules should be enforced or revised, meanwhile, it is also wise to address the real need of preventing a public health hazard by providing waste removal. In engineering, you deal with the greatest problem first, and public health is likely the greatest problem.
If you’re making a right turn from either church or Mercy Street on to Shoreline you cannot see oncoming traffic, which is usually moving around 45 mph. They are blocking the bike lane. Bicycles must ride on the white line or in the street. Now RVs are driving theit passenger side tires onto the sidewalk to make the RV level. Sidewalks are not designed for that.