Dozens of RVs and campers take over street in Marina

UPDATE 7/31/2017 6:10 p.m.:

A growing concern just outside of Marina: dozens of recreational vehicles and cars parked on a side street that is visible from Highway 1.

It was pretty common to see a handful of recreational vehicles and cars parked along Lapis Road. However, it’s been changing over the last few months, despite posted warnings saying it was not allowed.

On Monday, KION counted more than 65 RV’s, trailers and cars in the area.

Monterey County leaders blame the uptick on a growing number of Central Coast cities cracking down on overnight parking and a lack of affordable housing.

A report by the Coalition of Homeless Services Providers found a lot of these campers can’t afford space at a RV Park. That includes Rich Sweets, who lives in a RV with his two dogs on Lapis Road.

“There’s one in Marina but for a sizeable RV like mine, it’s $80 a night and it comes out to close to $1,000 a month,” Sweets said.

However, the situation has gotten so out of hand, it caught the eye of a Monterey County resident who contact KION. Rebecca Dmytryk has voiced environmental and sanitation concerns. She said she wants the county to crack down on the camping before it becomes a permanent fixture without any public review.

“I’m a taxpaying resident and I’m saying ‘No, this is not allowed on public property.’ If you want this road to become a homeless encampment, then you need to do an EIR, an environmental impact report. You need to go through the proper channels that everyone else has to,” Dmytryk said.

She has reached out to county leaders but has not heard anything back so far. We reached out to Supervisor Jane Parker who oversees that district. In a statement provided to KION, she said:

“Everyone needs a safe place to sleep. I am committed to identifying safe options for vulnerable individuals who are sleeping in their vehicles throughout Monterey County. Limiting options for overnight parking will simply move the problem into another community, but will fail to solve the bigger problems of a lack of affordable housing.

I have been carefully monitoring the increase in vehicles that are parked along Lapis Road. The number of recreational vehicles increased significantly following the adoption of city policies restricting the times that RV’s can park in their jurisdictions.

Individuals who are parking on Lapis Road do not have traditional housing or other safe places to sleep. According to the 2017 Homeless Census, the vast majority (83%) of homeless people in our county lived here before losing their housing, many (76%) had been living in Monterey County for over 5 years prior to becoming homeless.

The County of Monterey is working hard to identify locations and funding for homeless shelters, safe parking programs, and a full spectrum of solutions – and we need local cities to partner with us. We must move beyond the ‘not in my backyard’ mentality.

We will continue to struggle with these complex expensive downstream problems until the public will shifts to demand upstream solutions. I encourage concerned residents to join me in advocating for affordable housing, living wage jobs, parent education and support for families, caregiver social security credits, life skills training for youth, etc.”

Elliott Robinson, the director of the Department of Social Services said he hoped to present some kind of proposal to the Board of Supervisors in the fall. He said it would probably be something similar to a safe parking program.

That CHSP report also found an uptick in calls for service from concerned community members. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said it is trying to satisfy the needs of the community at large, while being sensitive to the needs of the homeless.

As for Rich Sweets, he just wants a safe and quiet place to camp.

“Half the people here have jobs or have social security and they’re living the straight and narrow and just be able to live in peace and maybe 30-percent make everybody else look bad,” Sweets said.

ORIGINAL POST:

More RV campers and cars are taking up spots along Lapis Road just outside of Marina.

On Monday morning, more than 35 RVs’ and trailers and 30 cars were spotted along the one mile stretch of road.

According to Monterey County Supervisor Jane Parker, the number of recreational vehicles increased significantly following the adoption of city policies restricting the times that RV’s can park in their jurisdictions.

Rich Sweets is one of those people. He has lived along the Monterey Peninsula, in Salinas and Santa Cruz. He said he moved to Lapis Road because he cannot afford to pay for space at RV parks in the area.

However, some are concerned about the environment in the area.

“I’m a taxpaying resident and i’m saying, ‘No, this is not allowed on public property.’ You need to do an EIR. If you want this road to become a homeless encampment, then you need to do an EIR, an environmental impact report. You need to go through the proper channels that everyone else has to,” said Rebecca Dmytryk.

County leaders say they are working on a solution, but no specifics have been laid down yet. The Department of Social Services hopes to have someone to present to the Board of Supervisors in the fall.

KION’s Mariana Hicks has the full story tonight at 6 p.m.