Seaside council allows limited parking for group feeding homeless camp until camp move

Seaside City Council voted to allow up to five vehicles associated with Nourish Those in Need to park on city property to deliver meals to the sanctioned homeless camp, with conditions and a limited time frame running until the camp is relocated.

The vote follows a prolonged public discussion that included city staff outlining safety and access concerns, numerous residents and local business owners describing negative neighborhood impacts from the camp and from visitors, and multiple speakers supporting the nonprofit’s work feeding people at the camp.

City staff described three options: open the vacant lot across from the camp, reopen the previously closed Mill Ponds parking lot on a limited basis, or designate some other city property. Staff cautioned that street parking near the camp had been restricted for safety — the street is an entrance to the public works yard — and stressed the need for consistent enforcement. Staff suggested conditions for any approval, including hours of operation, limits on the number of vehicles, insurance/food-handling documentation, and requirements that the provider remove trash.

Several residents and property owners told the council they had experienced trespass, theft and threatening behavior near the camp and opposed creating a new parking area close to homes and businesses. Others and multiple volunteers said the camp residents need meals and praised Nourish Those in Need. Founder Lindsay Morrison told the council she feeds 30 to 50 people a day and asked simply for a safe, nearby place to park: "These people need food. That's all we need." (Lindsay Morrison, founder and director, Nourish Those in Need.)

After discussion, Councillor Psalski moved and Councillor McVay seconded a motion to permit up to five vehicles to park in the Mill Ponds lot so Nourish Those in Need could deliver meals. The council amended staff’s initial recommendation (which had suggested limiting vehicles to two and starting service at 5 p.m.) to permit five vehicles and to schedule the meal window earlier, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., so public works staff could secure gates after staff leave. The motion required the site to be left clean daily and directed staff to finalize an agreement that would include hours of operation, limits on vehicles, required proof of insurance and food-handling permits, a cleanup plan, and a liability release for the city. The council specified the arrangement would remain in place only until the camp is moved to its planned new location.

The motion carried on an oral vote; councilors voiced “aye” and the mayor declared the motion carried. Council members stressed the arrangement is intended to be temporary and emphasized the need for consistent rules for any group providing services at the camp.

The council also discussed enforcement and outreach: staff said they would draft the agreement and that police would enforce parking rules consistently. Several councilors and staff urged the nonprofit to seek a more permanent indoor location for meal service and to coordinate with public-health and social-service providers to link meals to services that could help residents transition out of homelessness.

The council’s decision does not remove the city’s earlier no-parking signs from Avenue S; instead, it creates a conditional, temporary accommodation at Mill Ponds with detailed conditions to be written into a short agreement between the city and the nonprofit.