San Diego crackdown on vehicle habitation

[USExplorer]

And there, my friends, you have San Diego Beachfront Politics in a nutshell.

No one is forcing them to pay millions of dollars to live on a crowded urban beach. If they want solitude and peace they could easily move to a smaller and quieter beach town. Bums and wanderers have been living on or near urban California beaches for decades, they were there before the millionaires moved in.

 

[USExplorer]

I mailed an appeal to the city on the first of the month. I had several arguments, firstly that I cannot inhabit a vehicle in San Diego if I have never lived, do not live, and have no intention of living in the city of San Diego; and secondly, that the law is a very reactionary and harsh manner to deal with vehicle homelessness, and that it will only exacerbate the street homeless and drug abuse problems in the city. Haven't heard from them since.

 

[highdesertranger]

don't hold your breath waiting. highdesertranger

 

[Vagabound]

I mailed an appeal to the city on the first of the month. I had several arguments, firstly that I cannot inhabit a vehicle in San Diego if I have never lived, do not live, and have no intention of living in the city of San Diego; and secondly, that the law is a very reactionary and harsh manner to deal with vehicle homelessness, and that it will only exacerbate the street homeless and drug abuse problems in the city. Haven't heard from them since.

Whether it succeeds or not, I think that is exactly what needs to be done in these cases. Good arguments. My hat's off to you and I hope it works.

Tom

 

[MrNoodly]

Thanks to tips from another forum member, I've spent the past week hopping back and forth between Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach (all in SD city limits) and Imperial Beach. I wasn't the only vehicle dweller in any of those spots. I've stayed overnight in beach/park parking lots that are posted as closed from 2am to 4am yet there was no sign of enforcement. The original post in this thread was from two years ago. Sometimes there's an enforcement push but right now it seems there's not.

 

[MrNoodly]

The original post in this thread was from two years ago.

Oops, I was wrong about that. I keep getting the post date confused with the date the poster joined the forum.

 

[Svenn]

I mailed an appeal to the city on the first of the month. I had several arguments, firstly that I cannot inhabit a vehicle in San Diego if I have never lived, do not live, and have no intention of living in the city of San Diego; and secondly, that the law is a very reactionary and harsh manner to deal with vehicle homelessness, and that it will only exacerbate the street homeless and drug abuse problems in the city. Haven't heard from them since.

I think you would have had more success with the simple "prove it" argument.  Unless there is an eyewitness out there who wrote a statement, or will come to court, saying they saw YOU specifically using your vehicle has a "place of habitation," then the City can't win.  The fact that you entered or left the vehicle a couple times at night isn't proof that you were violating the code (see below).  I don't know San Diego's protocol specifically, but generally those mail-in "appeals" are misleading money-making schemes by the city courts- the judge isn't actually going to consider your appeal if there's no court date or hearing set.




"(f) It is unlawful for any person to use a vehicle while it is parked or standing on any street as either temporary or permanent living quarters, abode, or place of habitation either overnight or day by day."

 

[USExplorer]

Well, whether the appeal succeeds or not, I'm not paying a dime. Parking tickets do not go on my driving record, and I don't plan to drive my vehicle into San Diego again.

@MrNoodly: enforcement comes in waves; likely the homeowner complaints reach a breaking point, they ticket a whole bunch of campers, then the backlash comes in and they leave off ticketing people for a while. It's just good to be aware of the practice, especially if you curb camp regularly in the city.

 

[hepcat]

Well, whether the appeal succeeds or not, I'm not paying a dime. Parking tickets do not go on my driving record, and I don't plan to drive my vehicle into San Diego again.

Depending on the state in which you're van is registered, you may not be able to re-register it until all of the outstanding fines are paid.

 

[USExplorer]

Appeal rejected. The amount due will soon double.

 

[Kathleen]

I'm sure that they were. It's called profiling. It both makes a lot of sense practically and is illegal in a lot of places. Imagine the irony.

We all profile constantly all day long just to get through our lives. Just think of it. When you're looking for your car keys, do you equally walk up to all other possessions and pick them, like your tennis shoes, and say, "Are you my car keys?" No you don't. And there's a really good reason that you don't.

Hilarious! I had a really lousy day/evening. Came home to read the funniest things on the forum, then hit this. That second paragraph sums it all up. Thx for the hurmor!

 

[TMG51]

Appeal rejected.

Could'a told you that before you sent the letter.

I'd just pay it and park with more common sense next time. But to each his own.

 

[Vagabound]

Could'a told you that before you sent the letter.

I'd just pay it and park with more common sense next time. But to each his own.

While I defer to your experience in that area and see the practicality of what you are advising, I also know that nothing has ever been improved by going with the flow.

As quixotic as it may be, I salute his effort to bring attention to this issue from our general point of view.

Tom

 

[TMG51]

San Diego is well aware of people living the vehicle life, and they're trying to get rid of us. Everyone who is staying for free in a vehicle is someone who isn't paying for a hotel.

Obviously, I take our side, as I'm principled about my squatting. But if you want to address the issue it needs to be with someone other than the city - the courts, or the media.

 

[ArtW]

Courts likely wouldn't help, either, media probably the best option

 

[SternWake]

Saw on the local san diego news recently that sandy eggo has the highest average rent prices for a 1 bedroom apt in the nation at something like $1850 a month.

Not sure how accurate that is, but the news casters said it with pride

 

[TMG51]

I believe it! I live here for free, with pride.

(Or, wherever. I'll be headed north soon.)

 

[BigT]

Saw on the local san diego news recently that sandy eggo has the highest  average rent prices for a 1 bedroom  apt in the nation at something like $1850 a month.

$1,850 will only get you a studio apartment in San Jose right now (I just looked).  1-bedroom apartments start at $2,300 a month.  

Back in 2007 I was paying $750 a month for a 400 square foot studio that now rents for $1,850.  
I moved out when they wanted to charge me $1,500 a month for it.  :s

I can only afford to live here because we have rent control and I've been here for 6 years.

 

[ArtW]

sheesh, I can get a 1 bdrm for 500/ month here