East Palo Alto Gives Homeless RV Dwellers City-Funded Parking Place

EAST PALO ALTO (KPIX 5) -- East Palo Alto is giving people who live in RV's and mobile homes a permanent place to park on city-owned property on Bay Road. The city hopes that by doing providing the new RV park, it will become a model for other cities to follow.

The street in East Palo Alto, which was lined with RV's, was one of the reasons that the City Council declared a shelter crisis. "We're a very compassionate community we care about one another," said Councilmember Larry Moody.

Moody voted to spend $319,000 on a one-year pilot program  to create a city-sanctioned RV park on the Bay Road plot, with space for 20 vehicles, portable showers, and laundry machines.

It's a partnership between the city and a charity called "We Hope."

"Part of our efforts is to create a wraparound support system that holds our new residents, our RV residents, accountable," said Moody.

There will be rules: the RV's must be checked for safety and they must be operational. Each person who lives there is only supposed to stay for 90 days. Still, some who work nearby have concerns.

Lee Clemons, a neighbor of the RV park, said, "I don't want it. It's going to degrade my property."

The money is coming from the city's general fund and revenue from Measure O, a business license tax.

As to who will be able to live at the park, priority goes to local families, the elderly, disabled, and veterans. The park is expected to be open by the end of the year.