More than 200 people are sleeping in their vehicles each night in Goleta — and only about 50 of them are accessing homelessness services.
That gap was a central focus of a virtual public meeting Monday hosted by the City of Goleta and SBACT (Santa Barbara Alliance for Community Transformation), where city leaders outlined both enforcement measures and expanded outreach efforts aimed at addressing the growing number of people living in cars.
When speaking about that 50-to-200 ratio, Chuck Flacks, the City of Goleta’s homelessness services coordinator, said “there could be a variety of reasons.”
“People have to admit that they need help, which can be a hard thing to do,” said Nico Torres, program manager at New Beginnings Counseling Center.
Flacks said the city currently operates 60 units of permanent supportive housing at Buena Tierra. Additionally, “there are several hundred rental-assisted units for people with incomes below the area median income,” he said.
At the same time, the city has revised its illegal camping ordinance, creating administrative penalties of $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second, and $500 for subsequent violations. A “forgiveness program” allows referrals to the Safe Parking program instead of fines.
There are currently 30 safe parking spaces available in Goleta. The city recently approved a temporary camping license process that allows private property owners to host safe parking sites if they contract with New Beginnings. The council allocated $30,000 annually for two years to support the program.
“Our city attorney said if we just started citing people, we could be in violation of California law,” Flacks said. “So we are in the process of adding signs that make it clear that not only do we not allow large vehicles that park there but also that you cannot sleep in your vehicles.”
Mayor Paula Perotte said, “The council feels really strongly that we want to see these folks in a safer environment and not just parked on the street.”
The county is conducting a study to determine people’s needs and what would encourage more people living in vehicles to seek parking alternatives, officials said.
