Some San Luis Obispo homeless can now legally park in facility off Prado Road

Posted: Mar 21, 2012 7:31 PM by Nikki Ibarra
Updated: Mar 22, 2012 8:13 AM

Some homeless people in San Luis Obispo will now be able to park their cars and RV's overnight in the Prado Day Center, which is a facility for homeless people, located off Prado Road.

The city council voted unanimously to allow 5 parking spots to become available.

The vote comes after local businesses complained to the city about the homeless, who have been parking on Prado Road.

No word yet on when the program will start.

The Prado Day Center is not getting any money from the city. In fact, as of Wednesday, there is no start date for the program. The center needs to figure out how they will come up with the $20,000, which will be used to fund the overnight site.

Susan Perez has been living in her RV on Prado Road for a year now; and, she wants to get an overnight spot.

"Whatever 5 people that are going to be in there, good for them. I'm happy for them. But the rest of us out here, where does that leave us, you know? It still leaves us fighting with the cops, which we don't want," said Susan Perez.

She's worried about, what she calls, strict requirements.

To qualify, the city says you need to be drug and alcohol free, and you need to show the program that you're on the right path.

"You know, a lot of us have things, 20 years in our past, that are going to hold us back, maybe, from getting a spot," said Perez.

This also worries Phillip Dykeman, who has been living on Prado Road for a couple of months with his wife and two young boys.

"Unfortunately, not all of us are going to be able to, and that's going to leave a lot of us out here, per say, in the cold," said Dykeman.

The city has agreed to 6 months, to see if the program works.

"It's a step in the right direction. We have to start somewhere. It's not everything, but it is moving in the right direction," said Dan Carpenter, vice mayor of San Luis Obispo.

And, it's a step Susan Perez hopes she can get; if she qualifies.

"I'm sad. I'm said that Prado is, they're going to make it tough for anybody to get in that parking lot," said Perez.