ENCINITAS — A complaint filed by a local citizens’ group last March against the City of Encinitas over its homeless parking program was dismissed with prejudice at the request of the group’s attorney last week.
The complaint filed by the group North County Citizens Coalition, otherwise known as NC3, originally contended the site of the city’s Safe Parking Lot at the Leichtag Foundation’s property on Saxony Road should not have been allowed to host the program in an agricultural zone.
The site of the Safe Parking Lot is scheduled to be relocated to the Encinitas Community and Senior Center at the start of the new year, prompting a request for dismissal.
“The petitioners dismissed it and we gave them a waiver of cost and that was the extent of it,” said Jeffery Morris, of Devaney Pate Morris & Cameron, who represented the city in the matter.
The complaint was specific to the site at the Leichtag Foundation and with the parking lot soon moving away from the site, there was no legal recourse remaining in the case.
“There’s really no controversy or issue for the court to decide,” Morris said.
Attorneys for NC3 did not respond to a request for comment from The Coast News.
The Safe Parking Program instituted last year by the city provides a safe place for those experiencing homelessness and living in their cars space to sleep for the night. The parking lot is operated by Jewish Family Services, which provides case managers who work with those in the program to find permanent housing.
The program has strict rules and guidelines for those who utilize it, including strict rules against the use of drugs or alcohol while inside the parking lot.
Resident Steve Gerkin recently filed an appeal against the city’s decision to move the parking lot to the city’s Senior and Community Center but the Encinitas City Council unanimously rejected the appeal last week.
Marco Gonzalez, a local activist and attorney at Coast Law Group in Encinitas, told The Coast News his legal opinion that since NC3 did not participate in the appeal process for the change in location, they would not have grounds to file a new complaint.
“NC3 doesn’t have standing to file a complaint on the new location,” Gonzalez told The Coast News. “They didn’t comment as an organization or participate in the appeal before the City Council. From what I saw in the public comments, I didn’t see any letter representing that entity.”
A number of residents have raised concerns during public hearings about the new site, namely its proximity to two schools, so a new complaint could be possible.
“What anyone does with the new site remains to be seen, whether with this group or someone else,” Morris said.
In its most recent report, a city spokesperson said the Safe Parking Program, which began in February 2020, has helped 29 households find permanent housing and over 60% of those who enter the program had a positive exit.
