Santa Barbara’s Reversal Puts Its RV Program on a Roll
The city changed its mind on banning overnight parking, and now even the national media have mobilized to tell the story.
Several years after getting dinged in the press for banning the overnight parking of recreational vehicles, the city of Santa Barbara is now a crucial part of an RV program for the homeless that suddenly has become a media darling.
The program allows homeless people to park their RVs in several city lots, as well as in the lots of some churches and nonprofit organizations.
In the past few months, it has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and on CNN, ABC and CBS’ Early Show. Soon to be added to the list are 20/20, National Public Radio and People Magazine, which is devoting four pages to the story.
The national media largely have glommed on to the story of Barbara Harvey, a member of the middle class who found herself living in her car after recently losing her job. To media outlets such as CNN and CBS, Harvey is the poster child for what could happen to many middle-class Americans who fall on hard times brought on by the nation’s gloomy economic climate.
The RV program receives much of its funding from the city of Santa Barbara, but is implemented by a nonprofit organization called New Beginnings.
Speaking to the Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday, New Beginnings Executive Director Gary Linker couldn’t help but play up the coverage. “We received over 300 e-mails the first two days after the CNN piece,” he said. “I will say that it’s been a lot of public publicity to the city in a very positive way.”
Even so, he said he hasn’t noticed an increase in the number of middle-class homeless participants, as the CNN and CBS stories have strongly implied. “I don’t think the foreclosure issue has affected us too much here in Santa Barbara,” he said.
Meanwhile, the program has attracted some – but markedly less – coverage locally than nationally, a fact that Linker admitted he found “strange.”
In any case, despite the glowing praise from the national media – CBS referred to Santa Barbara’s program as “innovative” – several City Council members expressed concern that the coverage could open the floodgates for homeless people from around the state and beyond.
“As much as I think all this publicity is absolutely fabulous, I would caution us not to make it look too attractive,” Councilwoman Iya Falcone said.
Councilman Das Williams agreed. “We want to take care of our own homeless. We don’t want to necessarily take care of the rest of California’s homeless problem,” he said.
Nonetheless, although no vote was taken, no council members seemed opposed to the proposal to increase city funding for the program from $36,000 to $43,000 for the fiscal year beginning July 1. All in all, the program costs $105,000, much of which is raised through fundraisers.
The city money pays for the salary and benefits of a half-time employee who serves as a kind of “park ranger,” checking on the program’s lots throughout the city to make sure the RV dwellers are abiding by the rules. Those rules include no guests, no barbecues and no drinking alcohol.
“It’s a place for them to sleep, not socialize,” Transportation Director Browning Allen said.
The city has supplied 14 parking spaces in three lots: at West Carrillo Street near Highway 101, and at the intersections of Cota and Santa Barbara streets and Garden Street and Cabrillo Boulevard.
Other spaces are in the parking lots of churches, nonprofit organizations and private businesses, but Linker is reluctant to disclose the locations because of concerns about confidentiality.
All told, the program serves 58 RVs, and in the past year has put 20 families into permanent housing.
Meanwhile, in 2004, the city suffered an embarrassment when a court ruling stopped it from issuing parking tickets to RV dwellers. The courts decided that the city lacked adequate signage warning of the overnight ban on RV parking, and also said that it unfairly targeted the homeless.
In response, the city loosened its restrictions – keeping the ban for only portions of the city – and increased the number of parking spots for RVs.
The controversial ordinance and resulting ruling generated stories in media outlets characterizing the ban as a class struggle pitting the homeless against a wealthy city wanting to protect its tourism industry.
Noozhawk staff writer Rob Kuznia can be reached at .
» wrote on 07/17/08 @ 08:26 AM
I visited Santa Barbara a few days ago. I noted RV's (some real eyesores) parked along Cabrillo S of State St. at all hours, including the one made famous by PBS's Calif. Connected which is inhabited by an unemployed father and his 2 young sons. I noted that on nearby side streets "No Overnight Parking" signs are prominently displayed, but none on Cabrillo. This situation puzzles me and I have several questions which I hope someone can answer: 1) Why is all-hours RV parking allowed on Cabrillo but nowhere else in SB? These RV residents have virtual "oceanfront" properties. If I were in their shoes, I certainly would use what funds I had left to buy an RV and head for Cabrillo to wile away the days soaking up the sun and ocean air. 2) Why does SB recoil from "bad publicity" about banning RV overnight parking on Cabrillo when 99.99% of other wealthy and not-so-wealthy cities in the US ban overnight RV parking outright and suffer no adverse publicity whatsoever? 3) Is full-time RV parking on Cabrillo permanent, or is this a stop-gap measure until some legislation comes through to ban the practice?» wrote on 06/11/08 @ 04:40 AM
Santa Barbara's program for overnight RV parking for the homeless is innovative and wonderful. And concerns that it will attract other homeless are well-founded. One of the problems of helping the homeless "too much", as Santa Monica found, is an incoming tide of more homeless. Better to keep the program low-key.» wrote on 06/11/08 @ 04:23 AM
Blame the "media" for the spin and the public reaction but this is where I come to the city's defense. I am often inline with the City Council and Staff because at least this city takes on the issues and trys to come up with solutions. Often it is a caring public that pushes the programs and this one appears to have some success at getting RV dwellers into permanent housing. Often though the public reacts regressively. This program of course is not perfect but the "media" glams up the program with it's erroneous spin linking it to the mortgage crisis and foreclosures and that is the problem, not the program. Back in the 1990s similar media exposes revealed homeless services in Santa Barbara resulting in a businessman of a Southern California beach city putting their homeless on a one way bus fare to Santa Barbara. Most community's do this, shrugging off of their fair share of responsibility. This community should be proud to at least attempt to address the problems. I write this while anticipating of the usual negative comments regarding the many faces of homelessness. We recently had another "transient" murder in our community. Gregory Ghan was the victim. Without knowing the motivations or circumstances of this violence it must be pointed out that this violence could be brought on by written derogatory and hostile comments. It is too bad that the city could not increase funding for this program. I know how difficult it is for some of us sitting in our 2,000 square foot homes, with two car garages filled with oversized gas guzzling vehicles and our wine racks filled with our affordable daily dose of Two Buck Chuck.Efforts Aim to Take Bite Out of Carpinteria Mosquito Outbreak
Trash Hauler MarBorg Industries Making Inroads In Recycling
Michael Martz Named Partner With Hayes Commercial Group
Officials Bracing For Winter Rains, Floods in Wake of Gap Fire
Local Scouts Get Out-of-This-World Experience With Orbiting Astronaut
KCLU Acquires Santa Barbara Radio Station KIST-AM
Santa Barbara Ranch Plans Building Toward a Legacy Project
» The Noozhawk Network
The Ultimate Allowance Financial Parenting System
Recession-proof your children. From dependence to financial independence in 18 years flat!
Empower your child to move out and stay out.
www.ultimateallowancebook.com
Santa Barbara Psychotherapy
Individuals ~ Couples ~ Families
Kristine J. Schwarz, M.A., MFT
Marriage and Family Therapist Lic. # MFC 44909
www.santabarbarapsychotherapy.com
McIntire Physical Therapy
Most Insurance Accepted Headache, Back, Neck, Scoliosis, Ribs, Shoulder, Hip, Knee, Ankle, Foot, TMJ Pain & Dysfunction One Hour, One on One with Licensed Physical Therapist 20 years experience McIntirePT.com
