The Oklahoma Ave. Safe Parking Site in San Luis Obispo will remain open for a few more days even after a temporary restraining order that was keeping it open expired on Monday.
Last week, a judge denied the San Luis Obispo Homeless Union's request for a preliminary injunction, allowing the restraining order to expire at 3 p.m. on April 29.
The Homeless Union is suing San Luis Obispo County over the closure of the safe parking site.
The site was opened in 2021. County officials said it was intended to be just a temporary location for homeless individuals and families to stay in their vehicles while they looked for more permanent housing.
However, the Homeless Union claims officials failed to help them find better housing options.
The county initially announced the parking site would be closed on March 18, but a judge issued a temporary restraining order keeping it open until March 29 and later extending it until April 29.
On Monday, county officials announced that they'd reached a settlement agreement with the Homeless Union to close the site on Monday, May 6, at 5 p.m. The county will also provide a total of $60,000 in funding to help the ten people who remain at the site with temporary lodging or other assistance to help them relocate. The county will not be responsible for finding them housing or any other assistance; however, the county agreed to store any property remaining at the site after 5 p.m. on May 6 for no longer than 90 days.
As part of the agreement, the Homeless Union will drop its appeal of the judge's recent decision but is still moving forward with the lawsuit.
"We actually were able to get people housed because of the pressure that we put on the county, and we intend to move forward aggressively and immediately with our lawsuit," said attorney Anthony Prince at a press conference held outside the San Luis Obispo County Government Center on Monday. "We're going to be adding more defendants, more plaintiffs and more causes of action, and we feel confident that when we get this case in front of a jury that we'll get justice."
In a statement, county officials said, "the County remains confident that the judicial system will continue to recognize the diligent and compassionate work done by the County's employees and its nonprofit partners."
