From: courtney klein
To: City Council
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Parking Ordinance Comment
Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2022 5:42:28 PM
Attachments: WCHA Letter to City Council 2 15 2002 Parking Ordinance.docx Dear Sebastopol City Council Members,
I hope you are well today. My name is Courtney and I work in Sebastopol serving the public, which means I interact with unsheltered people daily. I am writing to you tonight to express my opinion on tonight's agenda item concerning the Parking Ordinance.
I am against the parking ordinance. I find it problematic because:
It further dehumanizes unhoused human beings in Sonoma County, and for that matter, the state of California, which has a fragile, complex, and self-defeating social infrastructure
It will contribute to climate warming and negatively affect our local Climate Action committee's work, since people experiencing vehicular homelessness will be forced to move their vehicles more often, thus burning more fossil fuels It will scatter unsheltered individuals, making social workers' jobs exponentially more challenging as they struggle to locate homeless folx, evaluate their needs, earn their trust, and connect them with social services
It subjects homeless individuals to sleep deprivation (not everyone sleeps at the ordained time of 8pm-7:30am)
It will have a negative impact on housed individuals with RVs, especially residents who purchased an RV in preparation for wildfire season and evacuation It will have a negative impact on traveling visitors (as a librarian I have met many grandparents who have traveled here to take care of nuclear families affected by COVID-19, trauma, job losses, etc) or wildfire evacuees It will have a negative impact on our Police Department, who will be burdened by fielding complaints related to the parking ordinance, when we could have a team of mental health experts and social workers dealing with the overarching issue instead In terms of problem solving for solutions, I agree with Arthur George's submitted public comment, which I have attached here.
Thank you for your public service,
Courtney Klein