People experiencing homelessness in Fort Collins could soon have a legal place to sleep in their cars overnight, under a year-long Safe Parking pilot program moving through City Council. The proposal would let eligible vehicles park from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. at designated lots, with First United Methodist Church and Trinity Lutheran Church both under consideration as sites.
The program would require Fort Collins to change its municipal, traffic and land-use codes, since sleeping in cars is currently prohibited under the city’s municipal and traffic codes, according to Denver7. City staff would need to amend the land-use code to make Safe Parking an allowable use and build a new licensing program into municipal code, changes described as necessary for the pilot to move forward at all. Fort Collins City Council must approve those code changes before the program can launch.
City staff has actually been exploring the idea since 2022, but it gained real momentum at a Sept. 8 City Council work session, when councilmembers directed staff to bring forward an ordinance establishing a year-long pilot, according to the Coloradoan. Fort Collins is weighing a maximum of seven passenger vehicles per lot, and participants would need to apply, pass a background check, and show a valid driver’s license, vehicle registration and insurance.
Why City Leaders Say the Pilot Is Needed
Vanessa Fenley has said housing affordability is a major concern in the community, and that low vacancy rates make it harder for low-income residents to maintain or regain stable housing, per the same account. She also said insufficient assistance options helped push staff toward the Safe Parking pilot idea in the first place…