OVO: Public Photo Gallery
“The residents of these vehicles are not, for the most part, tourists and beach-goers seeking access to the coast. Many never leave their vehicles. Some erect semi-permanent external shelters and actual wooden furniture. One resident installed a full-sized childrens swing set which remained in place for months. Several have chosen Delaware Ave as a location to rebuild their engines or remodel their campers, leaving all their trash behind when they left. This is not Coastal Access, these are homeless encampments on public streets.”
“One or more RVs park overnight near our house daily. Daily, not occasionally. Other RVs occupy parking spaces along the street, overlooking the sea, continuously -- at most moving during the night, then returning to the same spot.”
“I walk the sidewalks by the bay and continually encountered issues. These issues fall into two categories: 1) unsafe or blocked sidewalks require walkers to move into the streets and 2) trash left by RV campers clogs the drains which flow into the bay.”
“The final straw came when a Pit Bull jumped out of the window of one of the RVs and grabbed our black lab by the throat, locking on for several minutes before we could free her, only to have the owners of the RV and dog jump in a car and leave. We paid $1,000 in vet bills and our dog and my wife and I were left traumatized by the incident. We sold our house and moved to Aptos... what a difference!”
Outdoor toilet area adjacent to Antonelli Pond (June 29, 2022)
Trail to outdoor toilet area, adjacent to Antonelli Pond (OV in background)
Runoff into storm drain leading to Moore Creek
Delaware Ave. adjacent to Arroyo Seco Creek
Moore Creek area with parking above, showing adjacency
Delaware - Trash bag and feces adjacent to Arroyo Seco Creek (June 29, 2022)
Stain from previous leak (June 29, 2022)
“I live on a narrow street in SC city and regularly see near accidents from drivers that can’t see past these RV’s as we exit our driveways.”
Trash discarded behind dumpster. Photo from June 22, 2022
“Unregulated vehicle camping on Delaware Ave, Santa Cruz, impacts the safety and sanitation of this local area. Abandoned vehicles, wet garbage and broken debris ( Furniture, automobile body parts, used tires, clothing) as well as effluent from leaking oil, antifreeze and human excrement flowing into the gutters and storm drains as well as into Antonelli pond create environmental and public health and safety hazards.”
“Unsafe or blocked sidewalks: It is not unusual for RV campers to occupy the sidewalk by their camper with chairs, boxes, items within their camper, and to use it as their own personal space. I have even encountered tarps hung across the sidewalk, given their space complete privacy. Some campers have dogs, which are often off leash and growl/nip at walker’s heels. All of this, to be safe, requires walkers to move onto the street with traffic, which is unsafe”.
Adjacent to Arroyo Seco Creek – outdoor toilet
OV and debris adjacent to Antonelli Pond (June 29, 2022)
“We do not feel safe with strangers camping in front of our house. We witnessed someone pour a large Jug of urine on our sidewalk then return to the vehicle and not move it for 2 weeks and if we tried to talk to him, he totally flipped out.”
“An important aspect of an overnight parking ordinance is enforcing it along with the other existing ordinances. For example, the street that runs along the back side of Lighthouse Field State Park (Pelton Ave) has signage that prohibits overnight parking but it’s rarely enforced which undermines the intention and effort that the city has put forth. A similar parking enforcement issue exists in general though. Cars park facing oncoming traffic, park in ways that block sidewalks forcing pedestrians onto the street, and encroach on driveway aprons frequently. All three of these are violations of the California Vehicle Code yet, go consistently unenforced throughout the Santa Cruz Westside community. Wouldn’t it be better to enforce the rules or change them rather than ignore them?”
“The worst part of having people living in RVs on our neighborhood streets is the pollution. At the very least, we should not allow them to park near storm drains that flow into the ocean. I think that rule should be statewide. I go for a walk along the coast most every morning and when I smell sewage it makes me sick to think of it draining onto our beautiful beaches.”
“The police have told my Mother, 83, and other residents at a senior mobile home park (with approximately 200 residents) that it isn't safe to walk in their neighborhood (Delaware Avenue, Shaffer Road, Swanton Boulevard, Natural Bridges Drive), especially after dusk.”
“I often walk by people dwelling in RVs along Santa Cruz's streets and have witnessed dozens of instances of sewage being illegally dumped into the gutters and on the ground, RV residents throwing their garbage over the cliffs into the ocean, in the bushes, in the gutters and on the ground. In some locations, the accumulated trash around these vehicles is so great that it blocks sidewalks and adjacent dirt, and people have to walk into traffic just to get around the garbage. In one location on Delaware St., I saw a sea bird picking at one RV resident's trash and was alarmed to see that the bird had picked up drug paraphernalia.”
