Overnight safe parking site opens in San Diego's Grantville neighborhood

By Paul Levikow

August 7, 2025 (Grantville) – The San Diego County Office of Homeless Solutions opened a new Overnight Safe Parking site in the Grantville neighborhood of San Diego today, with capacity to serve 20 vehicles. The location, in the 4500 block of Glacier Ave., is on county-owned land that will eventually become 300 affordable senior housing units. It’s part of the County’s efforts to expand emergency housing options for people experiencing homelessness.

The site is in a residential and commercial neighborhood next to the California Bank & Trust, which is on Mission Gorge Road.

The opening was announced at a morning news conference with San Diego County District 2 Supervisor Joel Anderson, Rep. Sara Jacobs from California’s 51^st Congressional District, San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo of District 7, and other officials.

“This safe parking program is saving lives and helping those who need it most,” Anderson said. “We look forward to even more success stories from the families and individuals that will be helped at this location.”

Anderson thanked Campillo and his staff for securing community buy-in from surrounding residents and businesses.

“You don’t see any protestors,” Anderson said. “Everybody in the community understands how important this is to their community and they’re all very, very supportive, thanks to his incredible work.”

The parking lot is operated by the nonprofit Dreams for Change and will serve program participants with case management and housing navigation to more stable housing options. Participants will be connected to employment, health and social services and resources as well as flexible funding to help remove any barriers to housing. It opens every day at 5:30 p.m. Participants will then have to leave the lot the next day by 7:30 a.m.

Anderson said 52% of people staying in Safe Parking Sites have all moved on to permanent housing. “This is an incredible number, getting people into housing with wrap around services,” he said. “Nobody should have to live in their car or on the streets. Everyone deserves to have an open park where they can take their children to play.”

Rep. Jacobs secured $850,000 in federal funds to operate the site.

“We know that every night in San Diego there are thousands of people, parents, children, veterans, who sleep in their cars and have nowhere else to go,” Jacobs said. “For them, the car isn’t just how they get from place to place. It’s shelter, it’s security, it’s their only option.”

“But that feeling of safety can be fleeting with the fear of being harassed, being towed, or being fined is always on the back of your mind that keeps you up at night. This safe parking site changes that,” Jacobs said. “Here, families can sleep through the night. Here, people have access to bathrooms and daily meals and case managers. Here, people have safety, stability and dignity, and hope.”

Campillo highlighted the bipartisan efforts that made the site possible.

“City and County and federal collaboration are how we address these types of issues. It’s not just San Diego that’s dealing with homelessness. It’s all across California and all across the country,” Campillo said. “Every safe parking lot we’ve had in the City of San Diego has been a success, a smart investment, actually spending money in the right way. It’s cheaper and more effective than lots of other methods. It’s a great investment and I’m so glad we get our federal tax dollars coming right back here to San Diego.”

Jacobs pointed out that it is not the final solution to the housing and homelessness crisis. “I’m going to keep working to reimagine our social safety net, because our current systems just aren’t helping enough people and they aren’t helping people enough. And that needs to change.”

In addition to the new Grantville Safe Parking site, the County operates the Bancroft Safe Parking site in Spring Valley and will soon reopen the Magnolia Safe Parking site in El Cajon once refurbishment is completed.

“It’s through projects like this, where we’ve helped people get off the street with incredible success rates,” Anderson said. “We know that seniors are the fastest growing homeless population due to rising costs, which typically hurt those on fixed incomes.”

Anderson said that East County’s District 2 has experienced a drop in homelessness recently, with a 27% reduction recorded two tears ago during the annual Point in Time count.

“It was the first time there was a reduction in homelessness in that County Supervisorial district,” he said. “Last year, homelessness was reduced another 11%.”