The criminalization of car homelessness? How oversized vehicle ordinance could affect Santa Cruz’s unhoused
To local activists like Rafa Sonnenfeld, a lead with Santa Cruz YIMBY, bringing forth solutions after the ordinance has already been voted on is not enough. Instead, he said, the city has to address the fact that this ordinance is just a “punitive way to make homelessness go away instead of solving anything.”
“Santa Cruz YIMBY believes that, while not ideal, living in a vehicle is one of the only shelter options many people in our community have,” he said, noting that it’s not a stretch to believe hundreds of people live in vehicles throughout the city of Santa Cruz.
Further, Sonnenfeld said neither he nor any other members of Santa Cruz YIMBY had heard from councilmembers in advance the vote, and he believes it’s a further sign they aren’t interested in public discussion on the matter. He hopes that the city will move forward with offering services to vehicle dwellers, but feels the current ordinance is destructive to immediate effects.
“The criminalization of vehicle-based shelter is extremely problematic,” he said. “We’ll end up with more people sleeping in tents, in alleys and in doorways.”