What is a Safe Parking Program?
A Safe Parking Program is typically an overnight parking location (often a church, nonprofit site, or city-approved lot) where participants can park and sleep in their vehicle during set hours. Detailed research can be found in An Analysis of Safe Parking Programs: Identifying Program Features and Outcomes of an Emerging Homelessness Intervention, which presents data that, ontrary to common presumptions about high levels of psychiatric and substance use disorders among the unhoused population, Safe Parking Program clients have significantly lower rates of mental illness and substance use disorders compared to the general unhoused population in San Diego County and lower rates of addiction compared to the wider US population.
Most Safe Parking Programs include:
- Registration and screening (to confirm eligibility and set expectations)
- Rules and accountability (quiet hours, no loitering, no drug use, no weapons, no disruptive behavior)
- Site management (staff or trained volunteers, sometimes security, and a clear contact process)
- Case management (a social worker or partner agency helping participants access housing, employment, benefits, and healthcare)
- Basic amenities (bathroom access, trash disposal; sometimes showers or laundry partnerships)
The goal isn’t to “invite homelessness.” The goal is to manage an existing reality in a safer, more orderly way, while helping people exit vehicle living.
Why cities use Safe Parking
When people are already sleeping in cars, cities face a choice:
- Unmanaged vehicle living (scattered parking, frequent calls for service, conflicts, unsanitary conditions, citations/tows)
- Managed Safe Parking (one location, rules, oversight, and a pathway to services)
Safe Parking can help:
- Reduce unsafe and unpredictable overnight parking
- Improve neighborhood quality-of-life by concentrating vehicle living into a managed setting
- Increase connection to services that actually move people toward stable housing
- Provide a safer alternative for families, seniors, and working people who cannot afford housing
Who Safe Parking serves
People living in vehicles are not a single group. Safe Parking participants often include:
- People who work locally but can’t afford rent
- Seniors on fixed incomes
- People escaping domestic violence
- Families who lost housing due to illness, job loss, or rent increases
- People waiting for a housing voucher, room, or supportive housing placement
A well-run program is designed to prioritize stability and minimize disruption—both for participants and the surrounding community.
What Safe Parking is not
Safe Parking is not:
- A long-term housing solution
- A “free-for-all” campground
- A replacement for shelter or affordable housing
- A program without rules or oversight
A strong program is structured, managed, and measurable.
What makes a Safe Parking Program work
If Encinitas (or any city) wants a program that earns community confidence, these are the elements that matter most:
1) Clear rules and enforcement
- Written participant agreement
- Quiet hours
- Zero tolerance for violence and credible threats
- Immediate removal process for repeated violations
2) Professional case management
- A real plan for housing navigation
- Connections to benefits, job support, and healthcare
- Goal tracking and regular check-ins
3) Strong site operations
- Staffed check-in/check-out
- Restroom access and sanitation plan
- A neighborhood contact line and response protocol
4) Data and transparency
- How many people served
- How many exits to housing (and what type)
- Average length of participation
- Calls for service and incident reporting
5) Community communication
- A clear explanation of site selection
- A plan for neighborhood updates
- A way for residents to report concerns and get timely responses
Common questions and concerns
“Will Safe Parking increase crime?”
A managed site with rules, screening, and staff oversight is typically safer than unmanaged, scattered vehicle sleeping. The key is site management and accountability.
“Why should the city provide this at all?”
Because vehicle living exists whether we like it or not. Safe Parking is a way to reduce harm, improve order, and create a realistic bridge to housing—often at a lower public cost than constant enforcement and emergency response.
“Shouldn’t people just go somewhere else?”
Encinitas is part of a region with a housing affordability crisis. Pushing people from block to block doesn’t solve anything; it often increases conflict and instability. Managed programs focus on resolution, not relocation.
“What about impacts to neighborhoods?”
Any program should be designed to minimize external impacts through site choice, staffing, sanitation, and a clear response process. Communities can insist on those standards.
Encinitas: What residents should ask going forward
If Safe Parking returns to the policy conversation, residents deserve specific answers:
- Who operates the program and who provides case management?
- What are the eligibility criteria and rules?
- How is safety handled (staffing, security, incident protocol)?
- What amenities are provided (restrooms, sanitation)?
- How is success measured (exits to housing, service connections)?
- What is the neighborhood communication plan?
- What is the cost, and how is it funded?
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Feb. 16, 2026: Encinitas City Council declines to reinstate safe parking program.