$3.2M settlement in lawsuit over ban on vehicle dwellers moves forward
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A nearly $3.2 million settlement agreement in a class-action lawsuit challenging the city of San Diego’s enforcement of an ordinance prohibiting people from living in their vehicles is moving towards approval in federal court.
On Monday, representatives for the class filed a motion in court to ask the judge presiding over the case, Michael Bloom, et al. v. City of San Diego, to finalize the agreement that the unhoused plaintiffs reached with city leaders.
It comes about a month after the San Diego City Council voted to approve the agreement following years of litigation, marking the latest legal victory for homeless San Diegans and their advocates in challenging city actions towards the population over the last two decades.
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Similarly with other settlements, the agreement reached in Bloom will set new rules for how the San Diego officials are allowed to enforce those bedding down along city streets for the next three years.
The Bloom agreement will specifically guide how the city can enforce its Vehicle Habitation and Oversized Vehicle Ordinance against unhoused people who sleep in their vehicle or RV during a three-year period.
“This is a win/win for the City and our class members who are doing the best they can to survive in their vehicles, when better options have been closed off to them,” Ann Menasche, an attorney for Disability Rights California who helped bring the federal suit, said in a statement last month.
Under the agreement, the city will be directed to provide unhoused individuals living in their car or RV an opportunity to fix a parking violation before police issue them a ticket for three years, including giving them a “reasonable opportunity” to relocate.
When a “reasonably available nighttime parking” option is not available, San Diego police will not be able to enforce its vehicle habitation ordinance or oversized vehicle ordinances within the three-year period it is in effect.
People will also not be able to be criminalized for using their vehicles as transportation, such as to grocery shop, visit family or friends, go to work, or make a visit to a doctor’s office.
Outside enforcement actions, the settlement agreement also directs San Diego officials to expand legal, off-street overnight parking options to more districts within the city, Currently, the city only has four safe parking lots in its shelter network.
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In this vein, the agreement requires city officials to make improvements to the 24-hour Mission Valley Oversized Vehicle parking lot like adding electric hook-ups, lighting, flush toilets, showers and shade. According to city officials, the changes should not cost more than $900,000.
A total of $3.16 million will be paid from San Diego’s Public Liability Fund to the unhoused plaintiffs in the class action in damages and other costs like attorney fees.
All unpaid parking tickets for vehicle habitation or the Oversized Vehicle Ordinance issued to the individuals between November 2017 and date the settlement agreement is approved will also be forgiven.
A hearing for a judge to preliminarily approve the settlement is slated for sometime in May, according to court documents. It could be finalized by the court as early as June.
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