The plight of the Reyes family and others now living in their vehicles after losing their rental housing adds one more dimension to the dismal story of Mountain View residents whose lives are being turned upside down because of the city’s housing crisis. The Voice featured a story last week about the rise in the number of people living in RVs on Mountain View streets — a population that includes the four-member Reyes family, who lost the Mountain View apartment they lived in for 10 years because of a spike in their rent.
Jose Reyes, who works in a local restaurant and whose daughter attends Castro Elementary School, told the Voice that in order to stay in the area where he’s employed, the family bought the cheapest RV they could find, but RV parks in the area are full, with waiting lists. So the family has joined the burgeoning community whose “homes” are parked throughout the city, including near the back lot of a Target store, on Crisanto Avenue near Rengstorff Park and on Latham Street near Showers Drive — an encampment fronting apartments where residents pay $3,000 monthly for a single-bedroom unit.
To their credit, Santa Clara County supervisors last month voted to invest $17 million “for shelter and services that can be delivered in the short-term” for homeless people as the county continues efforts to develop long-term solutions, according to Board of Supervisors President Dave Cortese. Among the measures being explored is a “safe parking” program that would designate areas where people living in their vehicles can legally park overnight. This is an important step toward addressing a problem that will only worsen as housing costs soar, economic disparity grows, and local leaders resist putting measures in place to help stabilize rents.
Safe-parking programs — which minimize disruptions to vehicle residents from police making routine visits and address concerns of residents on streets where RVs park — have been put into place in a number of areas in the state, including the counties of Sonoma, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. In Sonoma County, residents of vehicles were allowed use of the county fairgrounds in the winter under a county-sponsored program operated by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, according to a March 2014 article in the Los Angeles Times.
A safe-parking program may be launched soon in San Jose; officials of that city have identified a public parking lot that could be used by vehicle dwellers, with financial support by the county, according to Ky Le, the county’s director of the Office of Supportive Housing. In what could be a temporary solution locally, Mountain View City Councilman Lenny Siegel suggested that the city could establish a safe-parking area in vacant lots near the Shoreline Amphitheatre during winter months.
That temporary solution should be rigorously explored and, if feasible, put into place as soon as possible. But as the county looks for at least one North County location for a safe-parking area, Mountain View officials should work with neighboring cities to identify vacant lots that can provide ample space for residents forced to live in vehicles. Then, with the county’s help, the local leaders should work together to ensure that resources are found to provide a safe environment for these members of the community to live with dignity until they are able to get back on their feet and into homes.
