Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance wants to create two overnight car camping spots for homeless people this summer.
Farina Brown, with the mayor’s office, said the idea is to increase outreach to those living in their vehicles. The designated lots would also increase safety for residents of Anchorage, she said. The municipality receives lots of complaints and concerns about people living and sleeping in their vehicles, according to Brown.
“Individuals that are actually camping in those spaces don't have access to hygiene facilities such as restrooms and sanitation,” she said. “So it can often be perceived as a lot of coming and going.”
She said it’s often hard for community members to know whether that coming and going is due to illegal activity, or just people doing things like washing their hair or changing their clothes.
The city has not selected the two locations for permitted car camping, Brown said. There is a long list of potential spots, which includes a municipal right of way in South Anchorage near C Street. The city hasn’t made other locations public.
Brown said the final decision depends on who the city hires to manage the project. The plan is to avoid residential areas, schools, playgrounds and shelters, she said, and people will have a chance to weigh in once the sites are selected.
“There will be robust conversation about any location identified for designated parking,” she said.
The municipality is hoping that each site would have space for 25 vehicles, Brown said. All vehicles would have to be registered and running, and drivers would have to be licensed. All campers would be required to register and agree to follow program rules, including no drugs, alcohol or unauthorized visitors. There would be bathrooms and garbage cans, as well two “staff monitors” per site, according to a press release from the mayor’s office. The area would be open from 6 p.m. until 8 a.m.
Brown said staff would contact the Anchorage Police Department for backup as needed.
“I don't anticipate that we're going to see 25 vehicles that are all violating the rules,” she said. “You might have one or two individuals that are, and they would be removed from the site.”
She said the winning bidder for the contract will be required to report directly to the Anchorage Health Department, to make sure municipal officials are looped in to what’s going on.
The winning bidder will also be required to have a communication plan with the area community council and opportunities for accountability with the community, she said.
The goal is to open two parking areas by mid- to late July, according to the mayor’s office. They would stay open through October.
