Feb. 18, 2026
By Gary Warth
OCEANSIDE — The city’s safe parking program will move from Apple Street to the Country Club Senior Center under a new contract approved unanimously by the City Council on Feb. 18.
The program, which provides a legal overnight parking location for people living in their vehicles, opened on Apple Street in April 2025 with funding from a $383,000 grant awarded by RTFH in 2024. Operated by the nonprofit Dreams for Change, the grant supported two years of programming.
The newly approved contract sets funding at $329,329 for the period Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2026.
Measure X funds will provide $166,671 from Jan. 1 to June 30. No general fund dollars will be used, and the city will pursue additional grants to sustain the program, according to the staff report.
In addition to offering a safe place to park overnight, the program provides case management and connections to housing and supportive services.
The new site at 455 Country Club Lane is expected to provide improved stability, enhanced safety and monitoring, better access to services, and room for expansion, city staff said.
Some residents raised concerns about potential parking impacts at the Senior Center and said they were not adequately notified of the change. One speaker claimed there were “weekly overdoses” at the Apple Street site.
That characterization was disputed by Max Disposti, executive director of the North County LGBTQ Resource Center, which shares the Apple Street parking lot.
“We worked with the neighborhood and we had zero incidents,” he said. “There are children on the premises. Nobody is doing drugs. It’s been a positive experience. We’ve actually seen a decrease in crime.”
City Manager Jonathan Borrego said Oceanside Police Chief Taurino Valdovinos reported no issues at the Apple Street location and said the program had improved conditions in the area.
Oceanside Homeless Services Manager Tameka Tates said a case manager will be on site from 6 to 10 p.m., and participants must remain at the lot once checked in for the night. The program will operate from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., with participants departing in the morning to avoid conflicts with Senior Center operations.
From March 2025 through Jan. 31, 2026, the program served 114 adults and 22 children, Tates said. On average, 25 to 27 people were served each month, with plans to expand capacity to about 50 participants monthly.
Tates noted that many participants are 55 or older, and relocating to the Senior Center may improve outreach and connections to services for that population.
