Anger Simmers Over Homeless RV Parking In Berkeley

BERKELEY, CA —The Berkeley City Council voted at a lengthy meeting on Tuesday night to direct City Manager Dee Williams-Ridley to try to develop a safe parking program for RVs somewhere in the city.

The proposal approved by the council majority, with three councilmembers abstaining, also calls for the city to send a letter to the California State Lands Commission to ask whether a temporary safe parking site at the Berkeley Marina would be a permissible use.

However, the City Council scrapped a related proposal that would have granted two-week parking permits for RVs in all areas of the city.

The possibility of allowing RV dwellers to park at the Berkeley Marina is controversial because the council voted a year ago to evict homeless people living in RVs from that area because of numerous health and safety complaints.

The original item on Tuesday's agenda would have directed the city manager to ask the State Lands Commission about the legality of an RV park at the waterfront.

But Mayor Jesse Arreguin and other city officials told participants at community meetings over the weekend that the waterfront option had been "taken off the table" based on public input and fiscal concerns.

District 1 City Councilwoman Rashi Kesarwani, whose West Berkeley district includes the waterfront, said on Wednesday that the move by Councilwoman Kate Harrison, with support by other council members, to revisit the marina possibility at the meeting on Tuesday was "a bait and switch on the community."

Kesarwani said stakeholders such as people who own businesses in the waterfront area didn't come to the meeting because they had been told that the marina issue wouldn't be debated.

"This is pretty disturbing, an erosion of the public trust and caught people off guard," Kesarwani said.

But District 2 City Councilwoman Cheryl Davila said at the meeting that there's no harm in inquiring about the legality of the Berkeley Marina site because, "It's just asking a freaking question."

Davila said, "We need to know the damn answer before we make a decision."

Davila said council members should have "compassion and empathy" for homeless people and "think outside the freaking box."

Councilwomen Lori Droste and Susan Wengraf joined Kesarwani in abstaining on the issue of asking the state about the permissibility of an RV Park at the marina.

The proposal approved by the council majority also asks city staff to look for one or more off-street parking locations for RVs other than just the marina.

Kesarwani said the vote to still explore the possibility of allowing RVs to return to the marina area "sends the signal that the City Council is going down a path that's not good for the waterfront and our interests as a city."

Kewarwani said she's concerned by city Parks Director Scott Ferris' statement to the council that the city is in precarious and important negotiations with businesses over renewing their leases at the waterfront, as the businesses might not want to stay if homeless people return.

"There are major fiscal risks" to the city if the businesses don't stay, she said.

Arreguin said in a statement on Wednesday, "It is important that Berkeley provide a safe parking site for vulnerable, priority populations who are living in RVs on our cities streets" because a growing number of people are living on streets and in vehicles due to rising housing costs.

Arreguin said, "I am grateful for the council's support to direct our city manager to develop a safe parking program for RVs. Just like we provide emergency shelter and transitional housing, this is a necessary

intervention for some of our most vulnerable."

He said, "This safe site will provide various services with the goal of finding permanent housing for these individuals."

— Bay City News

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