County gets an overnight parking program off the ground, despite opposition.

For three years, I lived next to a church in Pacific Grove that was one of the hosts for the Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program, or I-HELP. I opened my front door onto the church parking lot every day for two-plus years before I even came to know that, when one early morning I was up and out before dawn, and saw about a dozen men standing in the darkness, waiting in line to board a shuttle.

It was unobtrusive to the point of being unnoticeable. And that’s by design: Once homeless services become noticeable, even the most charitable of neighbors start complaining.

Cue the city of Marina, developer Marina Community Partners, Fort Ord Reuse Authority and CSU Monterey Bay, all of which have chimed in to voice reasons they don’t want the county’s just-launched overnight parking program in their backyard.

The one-year pilot is meant to alleviate some of the most desperate circumstances with a desperate fix: Orphan Productions, on a county contract of up to $200,000, will operate an overnight program for one year as a pilot. They’ll provide a place for people living in their vehicles to park overnight and sleep, as well as case management, utilizing the parking lot in front of County Supervisor Jane Parker’s office in Marina.

It was supposed to launch on Nov. 30, but was delayed by two weeks because Orphan Productions was behind schedule on securing general liability insurance. But there was also a request from the neighbors to hold off. In a Nov. 30 email to the county supervisors, obtained by the Weekly via a Public Records Act request, Social Services Director Elliott Robinson wrote, “Additionally, there is a pending request from Marina Community Partners, the City of Marina, CSUMB and FORA to consider delaying implementation to allow these members of the surrounding community to identify alternative locations.”

Marina Community Partners, for one, is gearing up for a lawsuit. The latest letter from their attorney, Sean Marciniak of Walnut Creek firm Miller Starr Regalia, sent Dec. 13 to the Board of Supervisors, lists various alleged violations of California law. Marciniak tells the supervisors to put MCP’s forthcoming lawsuit on their calendars: “The statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit… terminates on Jan. 10, 2018, and county counsel should calendar the appropriate dates.” Happy new year from your friendly neighbors!

Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado sent a letter on Nov. 12 voicing concerns about the location, asking about weapons and drug policies (as if there aren’t problems with weapons and drugs for housed people living in Marina?) and the potential for trespassing onto nearby blighted buildings. It’s easy to read his letter as another NIMBY voice, but Delgado says he is trying to share the burden. “What about Pacific Grove, Carmel, Seaside? They’re not doing as much as Marina,” Delgado says. “In Marina, we have yet another regional facility that no one else wants. There will continue to be a struggle if no other cities offer a place.”

Delgado’s hope is that after the one-year pilot (or even before it ends), other cities come to the fore and offer up places to host the safe parking program.

By offering up the parking lot in front of her office, Parker has set an important counter-example for NIMBYs: She is inviting the homeless community into her yard. Getting this program up and running at all would’ve been impossible save for the relentlessness of Parker and Supervisor Luis Alejo, who have refused to let the issue fade into the background.

“We would love to have cooperation rather than just getting an answer of no,” Alejo says. “It’s easy just to say no and hope this issue goes somewhere else.”

And it’s just a stopgap – the program will serve up to 15 vehicles, while there are an estimated 400-plus people living out of their cars in Monterey County. The sad truth is that by the time opponents are done battling over their differences in court, the one-year pilot will probably be finished. And no one is advocating for this as the solution – a community of people who live in their cars is no one’s long-term vision. If we can’t rally around a partial and urgent intervention, longer-lasting solutions are more likely to remain elusive.

SARA RUBIN is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@mcweekly.com or follow her on Twitter @sarahayleyrubin