ABC 10News Anchor Aaron Dickens spoke with a man who has been traveling across the country in a van. He has been sleeping in Ocean Beach for the last week. He says he feels comfortable and sleeps through the night.
“I fully converted the inside of the van. I put a top on. I put a new transmission in it. I changed out the brake system,” said Brandon Andrade.
Andrade describes himself as a vanlifer. He repairs professional baseball nets by day, and by night, he sleeps in a parking lot near the beach.
“I make $1,000 a day when I work. I just work to make money where I can and travel where I can... be experiencing life,” he said.
There are many like Andrade living by the beach. Some residents say too many.
“Nobody wants to have people sleeping around their homes. We buy into a neighborhood. We expect there to be security,” said Glen Volk.
Volk says he encountered a family living in their car near his home in Point Loma.
“The driver of the car got out and urinated on the street behind his front door, without any kind of consideration for the neighborhood he is in,” said Volk.
Volk and a group of residents who live by several beaches have emailed the city council and Mayor Gloria about the issue.
They want new legislation that would significantly increase parking enforcement and signs that say vans cannot park near their homes overnight.
“I want them to control it. I get there is a homeless and housing problem. You have people who have chosen to live in their vehicles. You have summer coming up. It’s just going to get worse,” said Volk.
When asked about the push for parking enforcement, vanlifer Andrade was unphased.
“Me personally — I don’t care. People are going to do what they are going to do. Politicians are going to do what they are going to do. They cannot stop me,” said Andrade.
A City of San Diego spokesperson says a legal challenge to the Vehicle Habitation Ordinance was a hurdle for enforcement. However, now that the city has reached a settlement, the spokesperson says full enforcement of that ordinance can resume once officers are trained.
"The City has finalized a settlement on the legal challenge to the Vehicle Habitation Ordinance, enabling the San Diego Police Department to resume full enforcement of the ordinance after receiving appropriate training," the spokesperson told ABC 10News. "That training begins Thursday, March 21. The ordinance can be enforced so long as the City is able to provide a suitable alternative for people sleeping in their vehicles, which we are doing at our four Safe Parking sites across the City, two of which are open 24-hours."
