San José to Launch Pilot Program Addressing Oversized and Lived-in Vehicles on City Streets
Citywide count of oversized and presumed lived-in vehicles will help reduce environmental and safety hazards associated with them as City launches pilot program in 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 14, 2024
Media Contact:
Tasha Dean, Chief Communications Officer, Office of Mayor Matt Mahan; [email protected]
SAN JOSÉ, CA - In response to environmental and safety issues caused by oversized and lived-in vehicles, the City of San José’s Department of Transportation (DOT) is developing a pilot program to better monitor and enforce parking rules. Over two months, DOT staff manually took stock of every oversized or likely lived-in vehicle parked citywide. This inventory will help identify areas of highest concern and guide the establishment of 30 temporary and 10 permanent tow-away zones in the most impacted neighborhoods.
“Keeping our streets clean, safe and accessible is one of government's most fundamental responsibilities,” said San José Mayor Matt Mahan. “This inventory will allow us to monitor the worst RV hotspots in the city and track our progress toward dismantling them.”
The data from the manual count can be seen on this map. City staff found just over 900 oversized and likely lived-in vehicles on city streets. The map will be updated as the new enforcement program is launched, giving residents a real-time look at the progress being made. The Oversized and Lived-In Vehicle Enforcement (OLIVE) program was requested in Mayor Mahan’s March Budget Message and funded by a $1.5 million budget addendum in the FY 2024-2025 budgetthat directs the department to identify areas impacted by oversized and likely lived-in vehicles on city streets, set up temporary tow-away zones for cleanup and street sweeping, and assess the feasibility of implementing permanent parking restrictions in certain areas.
As part of this initiative, up to 30 sites will be selected for temporary tow-away restrictions to facilitate cleaning and encourage vehicle relocation. Vehicles remaining in these restricted zones will be subject to towing and impound if not moved voluntarily.
“This solution is a long time coming. It will provide critical relief to neighbors living in RVs and allow us to give them clearer pathways off of our streets,” said Councilmember David Cohen (D4). “It will also ensure that our communities are less blighted, which will ease the tension between neighborhoods and residents in lived-in vehicles. I’m excited at the prospect of providing a broad set of solutions, and this site is a key step towards achieving our goals.”
Parking-restricted sites will be prioritized based on the severity of parking concerns and associated issues such as but not limited to:
Proximity of parked vehicles to sensitive areas including schools, parks waterways, storm drains, and emergency interim housing sites.
The amount of vehicles concentrated in an area.
Site conditions including levels of observed trash, biowaste, and potential obstructions.
Proximity of parked vehicles to Priority Safety Corridors and bike lanes.
While most sites will be considered solely using the above criteria, Council district offices will be able to advise on one specific location in their respective districts. Residents are encouraged to reach out to their Councilmember and provide feedback on areas that are significantly impacted by the presence of presumed lived-in and oversized vehicles. Once 30 sites have been selected, DOT staff will begin outreach to neighborhoods with proposed parking-restricted sites and to people living in vehicles parked in the sites. Based on the success of the temporary restrictions, up to 10 sites will be considered for permanent parking restrictions.
The city is working to expand its offerings for those living in vehicles. It opened the Santa Teresa Safe Parking Site in July of last year which can serve up to 42 people and their vehicles. Early next year, the city plans to open its second and largest — the Berryessa Safe Parking Site — on a 6.3 acre lot in District 4 which has the ability to take up to 85 vehicles off city streets.
###
About the City of San José
With nearly one million residents, San José is the largest city in the Bay Area and one of the nation's most diverse and creative. San José’s transformation into a global innovation center in the heart of Silicon Valley has resulted in the world's greatest concentration of technology talent and development.