Goleta Leaders Talk Housing Solutions For Those Living in Their Vehicles
John Palminteri
GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) – The City of Goleta is reaching out to the public for solutions to homelessness, specifically concerning those living in their cars. They also have new outreach plans to help those in vehicles get into housing or safe parking areas.
A public meeting was held Monday on “People Living in Vehicles.”
Representatives with the City of Goleta and SB Act discussed the current status and heard public comments.
Landon Ranck with SB Act, an organization that coordinates homeless solutions, went through some of the outreach efforts on an ongoing basis and solutions coming in from a broad range of efforts.
This includes contact on the streets, reaching out to those in camps, cars and Rv’s.
Ranck says input from the public is very important. “It helps us to know where to direct the services so that we can make sure that we’re serving the community or cleaning up where we need to.”
One new solution is a 24 unit project on Patterson and Highway 101 that is government assisted. It is called Patterson Point.
One unit is for a manager and the prequalifying for the other 23 is already underway for occupancy possibly at the end of March.
“Anytime a permanent housing opportunity like this opens it means that more people are able to get out of the shelters and into permanent housing and them more people are able to get off the streets as well and into shelters and it is all about creating that flow,” said Ranck.
The focus now is also on camping in a vehicle in an unpermitted area. It’s against the law in Goleta.
Goleta Homeless Coordinator Chuck Flacks said, “200 people at night are parking on the streets of Goleta. Of that only about 50 have agreed to homeless services.”
Efforts are underway to find out who is sleeping in their car, where and how often.
Flacks says, “it could be that they are working at local stores or local businesses and they need somewhere to spend the night because their family is in Santa Maria or their family is in Ventura so the county is conducting a study.”
The city already had signs that ban oversized vehicles in certain areas. They will add signs that indicate camping in cars is also not allowed.
Citations are being prepared and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department will be enforcing the new rules.
There is a permitted program through New Beginnings that has been successful. More approved areas for overnight car camping is being discussed.
The City of Goleta also has information on their website that can be found here.
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