People who are homeless in Mountain View have had a nice place to sleep at night during the winter for many years. Now, the city and county are trying to make it open six months a year so that they can help more people who don’t have a place to live.
In partnership with Santa Clara County and HomeFirst, a nonprofit organisation, Trinity United Methodist Church in Mountain View has been welcoming women and children who don’t have a place to live since 2017.
They offer shelter and other services. The catch is that the shelter is only open a few months a year, from about the middle of November to March.
Mountain View needs to help the county make the cold weather shelter programme last longer, from the middle of October to the middle of April.
The City Council is likely to agree to a three-year plan on Tuesday, Oct. 8, which will let shelter workers and participants temporarily use 15 parking spots at Lot 7 on Hope Street.
The deal is like one that already exists; it would just last longer of course. If the council agrees, the parking spots would be set aside for the shelter from 3 p.m. to 9 a.m. from November 1 to April 15. After that, the spots would be held for two years, from October 15 to April 15.
According to the council report, allocating 15 parking spots for the shelter should not have an adverse effect on the supply of parking during peak daytime hours. It said that up to 75% of the 94 parking spots in the lot are taken during work hours.
The shelter for cold weather can hold up to 50 people, or about 10 families. Based on a programme like the one in Sunnyvale, HomeFirst thinks the shelter will need eight parking spots for families with cars.
A HomeFirst report says that it is not asking for parking spots for single women because they usually take public transportation. It has set aside seven parking spots for volunteers, workers, and partners of the shelter.
The shelter needs both parking spots and a provisional use permit in order to stay open for longer. On Wednesday, Oct. 9, there will be a public meeting for the permit.
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