Redmond councilors embrace plans for ‘safe parking’ program for homeless
Managed operations will be similar to ones in place in Bend, Salem, other locations
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Aware that its only a fairly small piece of solving the issues of homelessness, Redmond city councilors got a briefing, then voiced unanimous support Tuesday evening for plans to begin a “safe parking” program, similar to what Bend and other cities have adopted, allowing a few vehicles to park long-term in specified church or business parking lots.
As if to symbolize that it’ll take much more than that, the work session discussion came right after an update on court rulings and legislation governing what local laws can be adopted regarding sleeping or camping in public spaces (the city will wait for a League of Oregon Cities model ordinance before proceeding on one piece of recently passed state legislation.)
And it came shortly before a debate and split vote that delayed a decision on spending federal American Rescue Plan funds on several homeless-related projects in the area.
Rick Russell, lead pastor at Mountain View Fellowship Church in Redmond, said that after hosting a winter shelter for about 20 people the past five years or so, the safe parking effort “seems like the next easy step for us,” and that he believes other partners in the area would join in.
The goal of such parking lot spots is to “make connections with people, draw people back into relationships,” he said. “I have no incentive to invite chaos” or spark issues with neighbors, but Russell said he’s “confident after seeing how it worked in places like Bend and Salem, we can do this pretty easily.”
Key ingredients include the locations (quiet parking lots), sanitation and funding from several sources to provide crucial case management, with three to six spaces likely in each location.
In an issue summary, Deputy City Manager John Roberts said it’s estimated by providers that Redmond has about 200 of the region’s 2,000 homeless. A majority have placed vehicles – running or not – along 17th Street on the city’s eastside industrial area, as well as those living in camps on the undeveloped land to the east.
Roberts said the program that Bend adopted in April and other US cities in recent years lets property owners allow limited overnight parking for people experiencing homelessness.
To try challenge the “if you build it, they (more) will come” statements by critics of efforts to help the homeless, Russell said a survey of 125 people who have used the church’s shelter found 82 percent are from Central Oregon.
Offering up more details was Stacey Witt, founder and executive director of REACH (Relationship Empowerment, Action, Compassion and Heart), a nonprofit that helps residents in need.
“What safe parking is not? It’s not Hunnell Road,” Witte said of the long line of RVs, campers and vehicles on Bend’s north end. The program takes in people who are referred by medical providers, police, congregate meal or shelter programs and “some self-referrals,” she said.
As those involved look to build relationships, they also provide a list of guidelines. “If you’re looking for places that you can have a lot of friends over, a free-for-all, start a campfire, this is not for you. It is still considered a ‘low-barrier shelter,’” Witte said. No drugs or alcohol are permitted, but there isn’t a Breathalyzer or drug testing, as the conditions of being there are behavior-based.
License plate numbers are recorded, so the locations and service providers know who is staying there. One thing that precludes some people from coming in is a background check for sex offenders. They also are “very strict” about not allowing “people spilling out all their belongings in the parking lot,” Witte said, and storage units can be arranged when needed, as well as solar panels, as there are no RV hookups. Dogs must be kept on a leash.
“The biggest barrier we’re running into,” Witte said, involves people with an Emergency Housing Choice Voucher from Housing Works, but “we still have having trouble finding them housing in the region.”
With the current Bend program at Nativity Lutheran Church and previously at Eastmont Church, “I will tell you we’ve never had to call in police,” she said. There was an issue several months ago, when a veteran who arrived with his wife and daughter was doing “amazingly well” – until he went off his medication, and “things went downhill very quickly.” He’s now reconnected with his veterans rep and “taking his meds again,” Witte said.
Churches can have as little or much involvement as they wish, but can’t require that participants attend church, she said. Witte also said there wouldn’t be space for all the people with cars parked on streets – but with the rules in place, many wouldn’t want to be there anyway.
“We have a lot of single parents with kids,” she said – those who see it as “another option to China Hat, Juniper Ridge and the street.”
Councilor Ed Fitch, as with his colleagues, said he supports the program, but added, “I want to approach this with a lot of caution,” to make sure it doesn’t affect the livability of neighborhoods, for example.
“I don’t like Bend’s ordinance -- it’s too wide open,” Fitch said, wanting standards to ensure the safe parking is placed where it would work best, in terms of a large enough parking lot, for example.
Councilor Jay Patrick said it’s another sign that “government is not going to solve the issue. It’ll take churches, and people who really care about homeless people.”
Russell said they hope to find three or four locations, with two or three parking spots in each as a pilot, with “9 or 10 spaces total as sort of a launch, see if this works, then invite late adopters to come see for themselves.”
Russell said the church’s shelter had 20-30 people every day and never had to call police. “We never had a problem with neighbors, except one who showed up intoxicated. But never with guests.”
Mayor George Endicott, noting the unanimous support, recommended the ordinance be drafted with an emergency clause, so it would take effect immediately upon passage and clear the way to make it happen.
