The Department of Transportation is developing a pilot program, directed by the City Council, to help address the environmental and safety issues caused by oversized vehicles, including lived-in vehicles, parked on city streets. The program is funded by a $1.5 million budget addendum that directs the department to:

• Identify areas impacted by the parking of oversized and lived-in vehicles on City streets
• Establish temporary tow-away zones to allow clean up of impacted areas and encourage vehicles to relocate
• Analyze the feasibility of installing permanent parking restrictions at select locations

Funding for this program will allow for a full citywide inventory of oversized and presumed lived-in vehicles parked on city streets. Up to 30 sites will then be identified for temporary tow-away parking restrictions to help facilitate the clean up and street sweeping of the area and encourage people to move their vehicles out of the restricted zone. Vehicles that are not voluntarily moved from tow away zones will be subject to towing and impound.

Specifically, funding for this program added the following ongoing positions in the 2024-2025 Proposed Operating Budget:

• Transportation Department
  • One Parking Manager I
  • One Parking & Ground Transportation Administrator
  • One Senior Parking & Traffic Control Officer
  • Two Parking & Traffic Control Officers

• Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department
  • One Community Activity Specialist

Based on the success of the temporary restrictions, up to 10 sites will be considered for permanent parking restrictions.

Parking-restricted sites will be prioritized based on the severity of parking concerns and associated issues such as but not limited to;

• How near vehicles are parked to sensitive areas including schools, parks waterways, storm drains, and emergency interim housing sites.
• The number of vehicles congregated in an area.
• Site conditions including levels of observed trash, biowaste, and potential obstructions.
• How near vehicles are parked to Priority Safety Corridors and bike lanes and.
• City Council office priorities.

City Goals Supported by Oversized and Lived-In Vehicle Enforcement

• City Manager’s Budget Addendum #16: Oversized Vehicle Regulation Pilot Program
• City Council Focus Areas: Increasing Community Safety and Cleaning up our Neighborhoods

Timeline

• Summer/fall 2024: Meet with City Council offices and partner City departments to discuss approach, expected outcomes, and next steps.
• August/September 2024: Develop technology tools and process to survey all city streets and inventory all oversized vehicles.
• September and October 2024: Drive all San José streets to identify where oversized and potentially lived-in vehicles are parked, where they are congregating in larger numbers, the conditions around the parking areas, and how close they are to sensitive sites.
• November 2024: Analyze inventory data to select 30 temporary parking-restricted sites.
• December 2024: Begin outreach to neighborhoods with proposed parking-restricted sites and to people living in vehicles parked in the sites.
• January through June 2025: Establish parking-restricted sites, communicate with residents and council offices, and update inventory map.

Updates

• November 8, 2024: Map of oversized and presumed lived-in vehicles published

Inventory Map

Above image: A map of oversized and presumed lived-in vehicle locations as of November 2024. Click on image to open an interactive map in a new window. 

Resources

• If you need help with housing or want to learn about resources available to you, contact Here4You Call Center at 408-385-2400, between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
• City Manager’s Budget Addendum #16

Frequently Asked Questions