Oceanside could be the third North County city to establish a safe parking site for people living in their cars.
During Wednesday's City Council meeting, the community discussed establishing a safe parking site in the city. Council members Eric Joyce and Rick Robinson presented the item.
"With service providers who are well trained in the industry that have a really strong track record with programs like this ... getting folks into more permanent housing and really preventing a spiral, which is detrimental to all," Joyce said.
Jewish Family Services runs the safe parking sites in Encinitas and Vista.
The idea of a safe parking site isn't new to Oceanside. Sunny Soto with Sunny Street Outreach has been serving food to homeless and vulnerable individuals for the last eight years. In 2021, she started a petition calling for safe lots for recreational vehicles in Oceanside.
"We need to take action and hit with more solutions because we have the resources to do it," she said.
One resource she pointed to is Measure X, the half-cent sales tax increase Oceanside residents passed in 2018. All revenue from the increase was intended for public safety and city services, including help for homeless people.
"We could've used that money to implement a safe lot back then and it would’ve saved lives" she said. "These are small little solutions that could really help preventing people from ending up on the streets."
Tiffany Ponsell currently lives out of her car in Oceanside. She said living out of a vehicle is difficult.
"I thought it'd be a lot easier but it's really just constantly being harassed," she said.
She says she's heard of the other safe parking sites but fears she won't qualify to get into them. "They have safe parking (in Vista), which is pretty awesome but I guess you have to get approved."
Oceanside staff will begin to identify sites and a provider to run the safe parking site.
A plan is expected to be presented to the City Council in January.
