Living homeless can be difficult this time of year in Southwest Colorado.
According to the National Weather Service, there was a 100% chance of snow and rain Thursday night, 35 mph wind gusts possible Friday and temperatures dipping into the single-digits Friday night. A winter weather advisory is in effect until 10 a.m. Friday.
Life is made a little easier for those living in cars, but even that comes with challenges.
“Trying to find a place to park is hard,” said “Shorty” Paul, who faced the prospect of being towed Thursday, but was saved by a fellow Purple Cliffs camper who helped jump-start his van.
Homeless residents living in vehicles say they struggle to find lawful places to park and camp, with no real options in Durango or La Plata County.
La Plata County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Chris Burke said he’s unaware of any legal places to car camp, without being on private property or paying for a campground.
“It’s going to be a challenge until the city and the county can come up with a location for that to occur,” said Burke, alluding to the city’s and the county’s yearslong attempt to identify a permanent homeless camp.
In the past week, he said the Sheriff's Office has warned car campers at Purple Cliffs to move their vehicles off the shoulder of La Posta Road (County Road 213) to make way for snowplows.
“We do have ‘no parking’ signs along County Road 213. When it causes a hazard, we owe it to the county to get cars off the road,” he said. “The Sheriff’s Office has a duty and an obligation to keep those roads clear for snow removal.”
Burke said vehicles parked on the shoulder of the road can also be a safety hazard for pedestrians, who may have to venture into the street to avoid parked cars.
Over the past six months, he said there have been nine vehicles towed from Purple Cliffs.
When the Sheriff’s Office tows a vehicle belonging to a homeless camper, it takes the vehicle to a Sheriff’s Office impound lot. The Sheriff’s Office doesn’t charge the owner a storage fee, as would be the case when towing a vehicle to a private lot, Burke said. But the owner of the vehicle must have up-to-date insurance and registration to reclaim the vehicle.
If the vehicle is non-operable, the owner must pay the tow truck fee to remove it from the Sheriff’s Office impound lot.
The Sheriff’s Office said it hasn’t towed any vehicles that people were actively living in. Most of the vehicles that end up towed from Purple Cliffs are broken down, Burke said.
He said some homeless residents at Purple Cliffs who own vehicles don’t sleep in the vehicle; rather, they use it as storage and transportation, but sleep outdoors in the camp.
One recurring problem at Purple Cliffs is when people park in front of the dumpster, blocking it from being emptied.
“I warned a driver that he was parked right in front of the dumpster, and they couldn’t service the dumpster,” Burke said. “The residents pushed it out of the way so the dumpster could be serviced. A week later, that same vehicle was back in front of the dumpster, so we had to tow that.”
Purple Cliffs resident Antonio Espinoza said it is a day-to-day struggle finding a safe place to park where he won’t get towed. He said for many people living at Purple Cliffs, their vehicle is their lifeline that gets them to their jobs.
“The option I’m left with is trying to find the lowest areas (least likely to have snow) I can to park that's maybe not an authorized parking spot, but is out of the way of the city’s necessity to snowplow,” he said.
Espinoza said he has a job but lives at Purple Cliffs because rent in Durango is too high. He said his vehicle was towed last year from Purple Cliffs because of expired registration.
“Luckily, I have the financial security to take care of it, but just barely. This is not a very cheap area to live in, and it’s made no easier by the weather,” he said. “I wish there was another dig-in (area for parking) for folks to park, but I can’t sit here and ask the city to pay for that.”
The city of Durango has an ordinance that prohibits car camping on public property.
“We have had some issues with people who have broken down camping in public,” said Durango Code Enforcement Officer Steve Barkley. “We do try to work with those folks who break down in public spaces.”
Most of the time, the city will issue warnings to people who are found car camping, and ask them to move to a campground or RV park.
Barkley said the city doesn’t tow a vehicle that someone is actively living in.
“It’s considered a home, just like a tent,” he said.
Barkley said car camping has also become prevalent among tourists who come to town during the summer months.
“In the city, we tend to deal more with tourists that are living in their cars, mostly during the summer months,” he said.
njohnson@durangoherald.com
