Board of supervisors advances abandoned vehicle demolition law, raising concerns from homeless advocates

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors took the first step Tuesday toward allowing tow truck operators to immediately demolish the abandoned vehicles that they haul away, something officials say will allow the county to better enforce its parking rules even as some homelessness advocates and community members argue it is too harsh of treatment for a vulnerable population. 

Deputies with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office already have the authority to determine if a car on public property has been abandoned or if an oversized recreational vehicle is illegally parked. If they determine it is, they put a notice on the vehicle warning the owner that it will be towed in 10 days. 

However, the tow companies face challenges in finding enough space to hold abandoned vehicles for 15 days, as currently required under the local rules, sheriff’s Lt. Nick Baldrige said at the meeting, so abandoned vehicles are often not actually towed. The issue has been a roadblock for the county’s efforts to remove abandoned cars and move RVs parked for an extended period of time. Baldrige said that tow companies have indicated that if they were allowed to dismantle the vehicles as soon as they towed them, rather than store them for 15 days, they would comply with the sheriff’s requests.

Many unhoused residents live in cars and RVs, but Baldrige added that the intent of the ordinance is not to begin a “massive sweep” of abandoned vehicles. Rather, it is to encourage vehicle owners to comply with local rules, as Baldrige said that many of those living in illegally parked RVs are less inclined to work with outreach staff and otherwise disregard enforcement attempts since they know that the rules are toothless.

District 3 County Supervisor Justin Cummings was the lone no vote on the five-member board. He cited concerns that the ordinance doesn’t distinguish between cars and RVs, even though RVs are intended to be the main target.

“What this policy says is that if a car, or any type of vehicle, is abandoned on the side of the road, it will get the 10-day notice, and then will be demolished,” he said. “I don’t think that’s the intent of this ordinance, I think the intent is really to go after inoperable RVs.”

Cummings said that he thinks that allowing tow truck operators to immediately dismantle a vehicle is a reasonable policy for RVs, assuming that the county works to connect anyone living in an RV that is being towed to available services.

“If we want to talk about inoperable RVs, and it sounds like that’s the problem, that’s how we should be updating the chapter, rather than conflating all vehicles and recommending that we destroy any vehicle that’s been left on the street for 72 hours, give them 10 days, and then destroy it,” he said.

Some public commenters spoke out against the ordinance, saying that it would harm the most vulnerable community members. Aptos resident Becky Steinbruner pushed for the board to consult with faith-based organizations to add more safe parking options and explore other ways to assist people living in their vehicles: “Why not start a pilot program working with local mechanics to help fix these vehicles enough so they can be operable and these people can move around, go to places that aren’t going to cause problems or cause their vehicles to be towed?”

Alicia Kuhl, president of the Santa Cruz Homeless Union, which is part of the national homeless advocacy group National Union of the Homeless, said that while her group opposes the ordinance, if the board ultimately passes it, anyone who is on a waitlist to access a safe parking program in the county should be given an exception.

“If you’re on a safe parking waiting list and you’re trying to comply with the city and resources available, I don’t think you should have your RV demolished,” she said. 

Kuhl said many advocates are worried about the potential loss of subsidized housing funding due to federal cuts, and implored the board to find a way to help those in danger of losing housing.

“You’re about to get a lot more homeless people if something doesn’t happen with that funding,” she said. “I, myself, am one of those people. I could end up in an RV again, and if that happens and you destroy my RV, we’re in an entirely new discussion.”

The board is expected to have a second reading of the ordinance before voting whether to adopt it later this month. 

On Tuesday, the board also directed the county’s Housing for Health staff to work with the City of Santa Cruz to connect participants in its Safe Parking Program and affected community members in Watsonville to housing-related services, and explore additional safe parking sites and report back at the Nov. 18 meeting.

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