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Lawyers attempt to stop closure of SLO County homeless parking site

February 7, 2024

Homeless parking site

By KAREN VELIE

Homeless Union of San Luis Obispo attorneys recently filed a restraining order in an attempt to block the closure of a safe parking site off Highway 1 near the sheriff’s department, where 21 people currently reside.

Since its establishment in Oct. 2021, 115 people have lived at the Oklahoma Avenue site, which was originally deemed temporary. And during that time, emergency personnel have responded to more than 500 calls for assistance.

Those calls include three deaths, along with medical, disturbing the peace, spousal abuse or battery, threats, burglary or theft and mental health issues.

In early October, county officials held a meeting with individuals sleeping at the safe parking site and offered them $1,000 and additional resources if they moved out by an agreed upon date.

On Feb. 1, the county gave tenants of the site a month and a half to move out. San Luis Obispo County plans to officially close the safe parking site on  on March 18.

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Typical Bruce Gibson strategy of ready, shoot, aim. Bruce told the world that it is a moral imperative that we address the “un-housed.”  Standard un-hinged political babble by Gibson. Moral imperatives from a man who has no morals (sexual affairs with his employees) is laughable. Truth is from the beginning, Bruce was deflecting the county’s abysmal record of helping the homeless by doing something/anything, even if leadership throughout the county said without a well thought out plan Oklahoma Safe Parking will fail. And fail it did, spectacularly. 


So Board, what are you planning to do in three weeks you couldn’t do in two years? What are you planning to do with the terminally ill residents who have no relatives and no resources? What are you going to do with the mentality ill who can’t fend for themselves and there are no resources for them? What are you going to do with those just can’t leave because there is literally no where for them to go? And Bruce, where is your moral imperative now?


13

sure seems like you have special feelings for a particular board member. maybe it’s time for you to step up and try to help make the tough decisions for your community. yelling from the sidelines is no way to help your team succeed. There seems to be a mob mentality plaguing this country’s political system. all a mob does is leave a bigger mess. roll up your sleeves and do something helpful.


-12

Thanks Calzonian. First, exposing the failings of an elected official can be a step towards better government. Second, you don’t know me and don’t know what I do for the community. Third, isn’t it a bit hypocritical to tell me stop criticizing someone while you are criticizing me? Finally, obfuscation is the art of focusing on the messenger not the issue.


6

This democratic support for the legalization of drugs has had it’s consequences, like this mess. Freedom of choice is a great thing so long the consequences belong to you and nothing of mine is negotiable.


13

Too many, have already taken up residence along the sides of Turri Rd., along with their piles of garbage, refuse, and other contaminated waste working it’s way into the back bay.


35

Pretty ironic it’s called “safe parking site” what a total waste of resources.


32

Yeah, it sure didn’t work out how they intended.


9

How much has this boondoggle cost us, is costing us and will cost us


36

Free needles , Free abortions, & Trains to nowhere . That’s what California wants .


10

Boondoggle is high praise considering what disaster this has been. The county had experts telling Supervisor Gibson this is a bad idea but Bruce always knows best. The result: a text book example of poor governance. It’s was supposed to be a 30 day temporary facility. Years later, Bruce and gang are still doing their best clown show imitation. The hard costs of fencing, security, and sanitary facilities is easily in the $ hundreds of thousands add staffing costs and other case management contractors costs and its $ millions. At the end of the day and for the most part, they took some homeless off the streets and then put them back on the streets again.


Truly it’s no longer the Oklahoma Safe Parking but should be forever known as Bruce’s Boondoggle.


17