Sunnyvale wants feedback for homeless safe parking sites

Sunnyvale is looking to offer safe parking for homeless residents living in their vehicles, and city officials are working on what that entails.

Sunnyvale wants feedback on a policy that would set parameters for potential safe parking programs, which the city has had on its docket since 2020. City employees want to discuss the possibility with the Sunnyvale City Council in late September, with the hopes of approving a plan in the winter.

Amanda Sztoltz, the city’s homeless services manager, hosted a meeting earlier this month to gather public input on the potential policy. Initial feedback and questions revolved around waste management, amenities for the programs and safety of the program members and neighbors.

“I just started in January, and this is the first thing I started working on,” Sztoltz told San José Spotlight. “It’s something that council and city staff, including myself, feel is very important, to especially get an ordinance passed so there can be an allowable program in our community.”

Sunnyvale has about 471 unhoused residents, according to a 2023 point-in-time count, though the tally is considered to be an undercount. Of that, roughly 146 people live in their vehicles. Stoltz said accurately counting people living in vehicles is especially difficult, as they’re able to move around and often have “a stronger desire to remain invisible.”

She said she’ll continue to engage with people about the policy over the next month, especially trying to talk with residents who live in their vehicles and could use safe parking.

Marie Bernard, executive director of Sunnyvale Community Services, said she’s glad the city is exploring safe parking programs. Her group hosts an array of services to support residents in need, such as a food bank, rental assistance and VTA transit passes.

Bernard said the organization is interested in providing support services at a safe parking site, such as case management or food assistance. The nonprofit also has data on people who use its services, which may help the city understand and connect with residents living in their vehicles.

“We all deserve to have a safe place to sleep at night and, unfortunately, sometimes, it’s a vehicle,” Bernard told San José Spotlight.

Other cities around Sunnyvale have safe parking programs, including San Jose, which operates a safe parking site for 42 vehicles at the Santa Teresa VTA station and plans to open another this year at 1300 Berryessa Road with space for 131 vehicles. Mountain View, which borders Sunnyvale, also has a safe parking program known as Move Mountain View, though the city previously banned RV dwellers from its streets. Santa Clara County is also exploring whether it could help fund safe parking sites in San Jose.

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Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein said the city council has prioritized providing services to homeless residents and that the city might be interested in either operating or hiring an organization to manage a safe parking program.

“We have about a third of our unhoused who are living in cars or RVs,” Klein told San José Spotlight. “(We’re) trying to make sure that we find places for them to live safely, but also conceive of what amenities are added there to give them a better quality of life.”

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X, formerly known as Twitter.