Redwood City Sees RV Dwellers Decrease, Updates Homeless Count

REDWOOD CITY, CA — The number of RV dwellers in Redwood City has decreased by more than 75 percent over the last six months as it has rolled out a temporary safe parking program, according to city officials.

During a study session on homelessness Monday, Human Services Manager Teri Chin told the city council that Redwood City now has an average of 25 to 35 residents living in RVs each night, a drop from a high of 140 RVs parked on city streets six months ago.

The council approved a two-year, $1.7 million program last August that allows RV owners to park within city limits and get help from caseworkers with transitioning to permanent housing and finding employment. The city allowed some street permitted parking for RVs and up to 40 RV households can park at a safe parking site on Maple Street.

“That’s a courageous act by this council,” said Ken Cole, the director of the county’s human services agency. “And it’s been successful. And it’s a model. I just wish there were other cities and counties more robustly doing this work around the Bay Area, because this is a Bay Area-wide problem.”

According to the city, 46 participants in the program have used the safe parking site and 10 have found permanent housing since last October. Approximately 70 households remain in the program.

In a January editorial in the San Mateo Daily Journal, Greg Wilson, who runs a neighborhood blog called Walking Redwood City, said the city’s parking lot is “little more than a fenced gravel lot with some porta-potties” but it looks “rather pleasant.”

“As for the streets where RVs had previously been parked, those are now clear,” Wilson wrote. “Redwood City’s approach to the problem is an apparent success, and in a way that also allows the city’s social services department to assist those RV dwellers who opted not to leave Redwood City.”

The RV program is one component of Redwood City’s efforts to assist those experiencing homelessness. According to a 2019 countywide one-day count, Redwood City has the highest population of unsheltered people in San Mateo County, accounting for 24 percent of the unsheltered population in the county despite having just 11 percent of the total population.

This year, the city said it has 101 unsheltered homeless individuals, according to a one-day count conducted on April 30. But it estimated an additional 10 to 15 unsheltered individuals that weren't visible, and the count didn’t include those living in cars or RVs, focusing on those living on the streets or encampments.

Of those surveyed by city staff, 44 percent became homeless during the pandemic and 31 people reported being homeless for the first time. Forty-three percent said they spoke Spanish as their primary language.

Since 2007, Redwood City has been among the top three jurisdictions across San Mateo County in the number of homeless residents. Chin said that there were many factors that contributed to the consistently high population, including Redwood City serving as the county seat, the amount of supportive services offered and the city’s excellent climate.

“We’re a location of a large number of programs and services,” Chin said. “That does bring people to our community to seek those services, and if they are not successful with those services, perhaps they spill out into the community as well.”

Redwood City has spent $3.5 million on city initiatives toward assisting the homeless population since 2019, recently allocating $800,000 in February.

Still, encampment mitigation has cost the city more than $807,000 in call outs to the fire, police and public works departments. Of the 826 calls to the fire department related to homeless encampments, 700 were medical responses.

“We pay a price for not investing in the services that keep people from experiencing homelessness,” Vice Mayor Giselle Hale said. “The prevention funds are well-spent.”

Councilmembers made suggestions such as extending the eviction moratorium that is due to expire June 30, reallocating funds from other cities in the county that are falling behind in addressing homelessness to Redwood City and working with the jail population to ensure shelter upon release. Councilmember Lisette Espinoza-Garnica also floated a basic income pilot program to provide direct aid to those experiencing homelessness.

The city’s proposed work plan moving forward included extending existing services like the Downtown Streets Team, increasing coordination with CalTrans, a possible homeless hotline and working with the county with initiatives like housing unsheltered individuals in motels.

“I think we’re heading in the right direction with this set of recommendations,” Hale said of the work plan. “Now it’s just about execution as quickly as possible because people are hurting.”