City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS
Lead Department: City Manager
Meeting Date: June 8, 2026
Report #:2603-6171
TITLE
Status Report from the Oversized Vehicles (OSV) Ad Hoc Committee; CEQA Status - Not a Project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council receive this informational report from staff with an update on progress related to oversized vehicles and the work of the Oversized Vehicles (OSV) Ad Hoc Committee. The Committee will verbally provide an update during City Council comments at the June 8 meeting as well.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Phase I of the Oversized Vehicles work has been successful in reducing impacts, improving compliance, and providing insight for Phase II which is focused on longer term solutions.
Implementation required significant staff overtime to address initial backlogs of ordinance violations. Conditions improved over time as compliance increased and the demand for towing due to noncompliance decreased.
“Point-in-time checks” by the Police Department1 showed an overall decline in OSVs across monitored locations between January and May, though in some areas numbers remained consistent. In terms of resources and staff effort involved, Public Works deployed existing resources on overtime to support Phase I initiatives, including deep cleaning support, storm drain flushing, tree pruning, and signage and striping work. The Office of Transportation also supported in engineering support for signage.
The work from Phase I helped identify key issues to be addressed in Phase II, including the need for consistent signage, management of OSV movement between zones, and continued 1 This is not related to the official Santa Clara County bi-annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count. Information about the Santa Clara County PIT can be found on the County’s website: https://osh.santaclaracounty.gov/data-and- reports/point-time-count. The Police Department point-in-time checks are a visual assessment of the number of OSVs on Palo Alto streets as a snapshot in time.
attention to staffing and operational capacity. Between October 2025-March 2026, the Homeless Outreach Team provided case management and delivered basic-needs services, while also gathering feedback from OSV-dwelling residents about barriers to transitioning out of their vehicles and into housing. That feedback led staff to explore options such as OSV buyback and storage programs, though funding and placement challenges remain.
Phase II could expand deep cleaning and street sweeping to additional streets, supported by permanent signage, while the City Council ad hoc committee continues refining the potential permit pilot and evaluating additional regulatory or enforcement tools. The full scope of Phase II remains under development with the City Council ad hoc Committee.
BACKGROUND
Phase I of the phased Oversized Vehicle (OSV) work was initiated in October 20253 when City Council approved a set of initial measures to address the growing numbers of oversized vehicles and resulting community impacts, as well as the needs of OSV dwellers.
Phase I included $707,000 in budgetary adjustments to support the initiatives approved by City Council. The adjustments supported work on new ordinances to prohibit the parking of detached trailers and inoperable vehicles on public streets and to prohibit the rental of public parking spaces (known as “vanlording”). Funding also supported regular parking prohibitions with street clean up and street sweeping, as well as collaboration with LifeMoves to evaluate options such as a buyback or parking program to help transition OSV residents into Homekey or other housing opportunities. In addition, Phase I supported efforts to recruit new safe parking sites on privately owned or congregation-based lots.
ANALYSIS
Phase I successfully reduced noncompliance and some impacts related to OSVs on public streets. This phase required a commitment of staff time, including overtime, as well as significant cross-departmental coordination and support and these efforts resulted in measurable progress. Phase I also highlighted operational challenges and provided valuable insight to help shape Phase II implementation.
The Palo Alto Police Department (PAPD) began Phase I with a significant backlog of vehicles that were in violation of various parking restrictions and vehicle registration requirements. Early in the phase, the frequency and volume of towable vehicles compared to the capacity of tow yards were difficult to balance. Over time, however, as OSVs began to comply with posted requirements, the necessity for towing leveled out.
3 City Council, October 20, 2025, https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/city-manager/housing-amp- homelessness/october-2025-city-council-oversized-vehicles-staff-report.pdf From January to September 2025, there were 73 tows, of which 15 were OSVs. From October to December 2025, there were a total of 50 tows, of which were 31 OSVs. From January to April 2025, there were a total of 94 tows, of which 46 were OSVs. This shows that since October 2025, the rate of towing has increased to address noncompliant vehicles. The Police Department has paid $91,600 for OSV towing services.
In January 2026, PAPD began enforcing the City’s ban on vanlording and advertisements for OSV rentals in Palo Alto. As of May 13, 2026, there have been 19 violations for which administrative citations have been issued.
There has also been a reduction in the number of nuisance citations related to OSVs. In 2025 there were 89 public nuisance citations issued and in 2026, through May 13, 2026, there have been 27 citations issued.
PAPD supported Public Works street cleaning and street sweeping efforts. On-duty Community Service Officers (CSO) and one sworn officer were redirected to support regularly scheduled parking prohibitions for sweeping by towing vehicles and issuing citations to violators. During Saturday street cleaning, one CSO was paid overtime and one on-duty officer were assigned to tow vehicles or issue citations to vehicles that did not move for cleaning activities.
PAPD conducted monthly point-in-time checks for oversized vehicles. Between January 15 and May 6, 2026, staff found that the number of OSVs reduced from 191 to 133. It took five to seven staff members roughly 2.5 hours to complete the counts. Staff are paid overtime to complete this work.
The Public Works Traffic Control / Street Sweeping team experienced substantial workload impacts during Phase I. Staff were redirected to provide support for deep cleaning of streets, including flushing over 37,000 linear feet of storm drains, pruning over 120 trees, and installing temporary and permanent signage, resulting in overtime and the deferral of other work. Office of Transportation also provided engineering support for signage.
Phase I highlighted some focus areas for Phase II, particularly the need for clear signage, management of displacement of OSVs between zones, and continued attention to staffing and operational capacity in future phases.
Additionally, during Phase I (October-March), the outreach team provided engagement services, including case management to 42 individuals, and provided 4,242 basic need services (food, showers, clothing). In conjunction to their ongoing work, the outreach team shifted many resources to work with OSV-dwelling clients to better understand ways in which support would be helpful as they work to help transition into permanent housing. The clients, including many families, shared that there are few options for safely selling, donating, or disposing of their OSVs, making it challenging to leave their OSV behind. With this feedback, city staff explored the opportunities of creating an OSV buyback program and a storage program.
When exploring the options of an OSV buyback program, staff learned that a few neighboring cities also offered similar opportunities. Each city experienced a varying degree of results.
Notably, acquiring funding for the buy-back program and ensuring that participants of the program have stable housing to transition to are both challenges that are significant and growing. Additionally, without a definitive pipeline for buyback program participants to affordable housing, there is a risk of households returning to homelessness in a more vulnerable state (i.e., without even an OSV to serve as shelter).
In terms of storage, staff looked at both city-owned locations and commercial storage facilities.
There is a lack of city-owned land suitable for OSV storage. Additionally, if a city location was found/made suitable, there are challenges related to risks and liability, particularly around assuming custody of privately owned vehicles and belongings, as well as financial obligations for locations involving City Enterprise Funds. There are also risks related to (1) fire and safety risk (e.g., concentrated OSV storage presents hazards associated with propane tanks, electrical systems, and potential battery failures) and (2) securing the vehicles/site against unauthorized entry and habitation, and (3) potential environmental contamination. For commercial sites, there are constraints on the size of OSVs accepted and the number of OSVs that can be accommodated locally (e.g., within 12 miles). Costs for storage vary and would depend on the model/approach.
In Phase II, staff are anticipating the need to add a small number of additional streets for an initial deep cleaning with ongoing street sweeping accompanied by respective street signs. The Ad Hoc continues to finalize the details of what the permit pilot will include and are exploring additional methods of enforcement.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The $707,000 budget for OSV Phase I in FY26 is on track for full utilization. Staff does not anticipate the need to request any additional funding to complete Phase I work. However, in its adjustments to the FY27 budget, Finance Committee has recommended that City Council approve $184,000 for FY27 funding to support additional deep cleaning, continued street sweeping services and ongoing enforcement of the areas identified in Phase I. Phase II costs would be estimated upon completion of scoping and likely will require additional funding.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Staff continue to monitor and respond to correspondence submitted to the City Council on this topic. Staff are also actively engaging with the local service provider network to share information, answer questions, and gather insights regarding what providers are hearing directly from their clients. This ongoing outreach helps ensure that staff remain informed of community concerns, service impacts and emerging themes, and allows for responsive coordination as the project moves forward. Staff have also met with local businesses and joined calls with the Chamber of Commerce to hear and address concerns. Staff has also met with individuals and groups who have requested a meeting to discuss this topic.
Lastly, Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga hosted a regional convening in April to discuss safe parking and the regional collaboration needed to expand safe parking options. Palo Alto staff and Ad Hoc Committee members participated in this regional discussion.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This report is for informational purposes only with no action required by the Council and is there not a project subject to CEQA review.
APPROVED BY:
Ed Shikada, City Manager