Attorney claims police violating vehicle dwellers rights, files motion

SAN DIEGO A disabled rights attorney has filed a legal motion claiming multiple city violations of a class-action settlement allowing wagon dwellers not to be ticketed if spots in nearby Safe Parking Lots are unavailable At a Nov news conference and rally at South Shores Boat Launch in South Shores Park in Mission Bay attorney Ann E Menasche alleged police are indiscriminately handing out tickets each plus penalties to people who can t afford it and have no other choice near Safe Parking Lots Such lots include H Barracks city-owned land off North Harbor Drive between Kincaid Road and McCain Road near the San Diego International Airport and Liberty Station At issue is Bloom et al vs City of San Diego a settlement agreement approved by the U S District Court in October That lawsuit challenged two city ordinances penalizing people for living in their vehicles and or parking certain large vehicles overnight in the city The landmark legal action protects San Diegans who rely on their vehicles as their only form of shelter from unjust enforcement and fines Six years ago Menasche filed a lawsuit against the city on behalf of homeless people to challenge city ordinances against living in vehicles and parking oversized vehicles such as RVs on city streets between and in the morning Sleeping in a truck on society streets is prohibited between p m and a m Additionally long-term bicycle habitation including in RVs on private property is often restricted with a typical -hour limit for camping New legal challenges and settlements however have changed enforcement requiring police to now offer alternative shelter options before citing individuals for wagon habitation Menasche argued the city is presently not living up to the terms of the Bloom Settlement City police are supposed to consider whether safe parking is reasonably available to individuals before ticketing them she announced However police are not doing so and ticketing them anyway Menasche pointed out that numerous bicycle dwellers can t afford to pay for tickets being issued to them without sacrificing food and medicine Countless van dwellers are living on small fixed incomes and cannot afford to pay the to in extra gas money to drive their RVs twice per day miles round trip to the safe parking lot she added Others have disabilities that mean they cannot physically handle the multiple strenuous tasks involved in moving their RV twice per day or have visual impairments or are taking medication which makes it unsafe to drive at night Certain have work schedules that conflict with the hours that the Safe Parking Lot is open and don t want to lose their jobs The attorney contended that to continue ticketing people forced to live out of their vehicles when there isn t enough available affordable housing is morally wrong That s the bottom line reported Menasche What we have are people who are trying the best they can to survive and they re being punished for being sick or poor Menasche pointed out that multiple San Diegans live paycheck to paycheck making them one downturn job loss illness etc from finding themselves in similar reduced housing circumstances In August at a Liberty Station locality forum Capt Steve Shebloski and Sgt Mike Wallace from the San Diego Police Department s Neighborhood Policing Division explained residents that oversize conveyance and conveyance habitation enforcement were taking time to accomplish because police are being very diligent and transparent in engaging truck dwellers because we want everyone to understand what s going on Shebloski pointed out that OVO enforcement was precluded in Point Loma before the current opening of the H Barracks Safe Parking Lot Legally we couldn t do enforcement he announced Now that H Barracks is open we can do enforcement because an overnight disability option is available Wallace who actively contacts OVO residents in the field while enforcing OVO VHO ordinances revealed his primary job is to inform residents of the rules and their options He reported he repeatedly engages OVO owners issuing warnings and offering them an opportunity to correct their behavior and live within the law before citing them for non-compliance Addressing the lack of affordable housing not stricter enforcement of people forced to live out of their vehicles is what is really needed concluded Menasche Rents keep going up and the answer is not to treat people who have no choice as criminals and ticket them to death Menasche added that the bicycle dwellers she s representing will also be protesting the failure of the city to make essential improvements at the Mission Valley Safe Lot Mission Village Drive as promised in the Bloom agreement She noted people living out of their vehicles in Mission Valley s Safe Parking Lot still lack running water showers electricity and adequate shade A legal briefing on Menasche s motion to enforce the terms of the Bloom Settlement has been scheduled for Dec She explained it is uncertain how long the courts may take to decide the legal issues involved