The Palo Alto City Council has established a Safe Parking Program (SPP) to assist individuals who are unhoused and sleeping in their cars on city streets with a safe place to spend the night and support for finding permanent housing. Safe Parking provides a safe place to sleep for individuals living in their cars and helps connect them to more permanent housing options.  The Safe Parking Program is set up in a way to protect the safety of all nearby residents while at the same time respecting the privacy and dignity of the people it will help.  Through SPP local congregations can provide safe parking for individuals who have been sleeping in their cars on city streets.  

The First Congregational Church of Palo Alto (FCCPA) has submitted an application to the City which has been approved by City Staff and is on the Consent Agenda for the Council’s August 22nd meeting. However, a neighbor of the church, acting on behalf of a group of Palo Alto residents has filed an appeal, objecting to FCCPA’s plans for SPP because they feel the program will jeopardize community safety.   Two other Palo Alto congregations (The Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto and the Highway Church) are currently participating in SPP.  Neither program has received complaints from neighbors or community members nor have there been any incidents jeopardizing community safety.

Please consider writing to the Palo Alto City Council to support FCCPA's Safe Parking Program application.

See below for more information about the application process, as well as contact information for City Council Members.

Background Information:

• Have a car, driver’s license, valid automobile registration, & insurance
• Agree to work with a case manager to secure permanent housing
• Check in weekly with the case manager
• Consent to personal and car identification information being shared with the Palo Alto Police Department
• Be prepared for a security guard to randomly check on them throughout the night