Riverside Explores Safe Parking Program for Residents Living in Vehicles

The Riverside Housing and Homelessness Committee is considering implementing a safe parking program to provide secure overnight parking and services for individuals living in their vehicles. During a meeting on Jan. 27, 2025, committee members discussed various models used in other California cities to determine the best approach for Riverside.

Michelle Davis, the City's Housing and Human Services Director, presented an overview of safe parking programs operating throughout the state. These programs offer communities a homelessness intervention for people living in vehicles, providing a safe place to park while connecting them to resources.

"Safe parking programs provide communities with a safe homelessness intervention for people who are living in their vehicles to stabilize and be connected to resources," Davis explained. "Most of these programs include access to restroom facilities and include security guard services."

Davis highlighted several existing programs, including one in Santa Barbara that began in 2004. The program, operated by New Beginnings, partners with the city, local churches, and nonprofits to provide 200 safe parking spots across 31 parking lots.

In San Diego, Jewish Family Services operates six safe parking programs with a total of 221 spaces. The program offerswraparound services focused on basic needs, employment assistance, and housing support.

Los Angeles launched its safe parking program in 2017, now operating six lots accommodating up to 174 vehicles. The sites are open nightly from 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., with security officers on-site and access to bathrooms and hand-washing stations.

Committee members expressed interest in the programs but raised concerns about the details of the implementation.

"As with anything, the devil's in the details," Councilmember Sean Mill said. He questioned funding sources, estimated costs, and potential locations, stressing the importance of considering sensitive receptors when selecting sites.

Mill also suggested specific requirements for the program, including an application process, background checks, and rules prohibiting drug and alcohol use on-site.

"We're exposing, we're opening up a facility, and I would hope that on the site if we were going to do this, we would have facilities for restrooms and showers," Mill said. "I don't want it to be a free-for-all, for everybody coming from everywhere to use these facilities."

Councilmember Steven Robillard inquired about existing resources for people living in vehicles, such as truck stops and Walmart parking lots that allow overnight parking. He suggested focusing on specific populations, like families or young mothers, to make the program more manageable and effective.

"I think if we target a more specific audience or not audience, I should say population type, that is kind of what we should focus on," Robillard said.

Committee Chair Clarissa Cervantes requested staff to bring back options within 60 days for a safe parking program and 90 days for a potential safe camping program. She also asked for community input sessions to be held before the proposals return to the committee.

"Can we have maybe a community meeting or some type of listening session that could take place before we have it come back to committee to get feedback from the community?" Cervantes asked.

Davis agreed to develop proposals with different tiers and cost estimates, focusing on specific subpopulations as requested by the committee. She also plans to reach out to existing safe parking program operators to learn best practices and schedule tours of operational programs.

The committee will review the proposals and community feedback before deciding whether to recommend a safe parking program to the full City Council for consideration.