Eugene council directs one-year Vehicle Navigator pilot to help people living in vehicles

The Eugene City Council voted 7 to 1 on June 9 to direct the city manager to establish a one-year Vehicle Navigator pilot program aimed at helping people who live in vehicles obtain legal ownership, registration, insurance and driver’s licenses.

The pilot, as described by Jeff Petrie, Curbside Admin Services Director, would fund a contracted navigator working roughly 20 hours per week and is estimated to cost about $35,000 for one year. The navigator would help clients with Department of Motor Vehicles processes, insurance questions and documentation needed to make a vehicle legal to operate on city streets. Petrie said the navigator could be housed in the provider room at Community Court and at other provider locations across Eugene.

Council members said the program responds to issues that surfaced after the council adopted parking-related code amendments in 2024. Those amendments removed a meter cap hourly rate, raised the parking fine schedule and clarified rules meant to reduce repeat parking violations, Petrie said. Under the time-limit change, a vehicle that leaves a limited-duration zone must generally wait until midnight the next day before returning to the same zone; larger vehicles parked…