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.
At First United Methodist Church, which is led by the Rev. Bradley Laurvick, the congregation is looking at hosting up to seven cars overnight, operating one month on and one month off, according to the church's own description of the plan. The church has partnered with Catholic Charities and the Family Housing Network, and community partners would provide daytime shelter, laundry access and case management for participants.
Laurvick told the Coloradoan that the church had weighed the possibility for a long time but previously lacked the answers it needed before moving forward. “Safe parking is not a solution to homelessness,” he said, “but it can provide some stability while people work toward one.” He added that Safe Parking alone is not sufficient as a standalone fix for the underlying problem.
Vote Delayed After Community Pushback
The proposed code changes and operational details were originally set for a first reading before City Council on Nov. 3, the Coloradoan reported. Denver7 later reported that the vote has been postponed to Dec. 1, with community feedback contributing to the delay and a second reading now expected in mid-December.
Under the plan the church is considering, parking hours would run from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., and participants would access case management and basic services during the day through nonprofit partner sites. Similar Safe Parking programs already operate elsewhere in Colorado, including in Longmont, Summit County and Denver.
How Other Northern Colorado Cities Run Safe Parking
Loveland's version of the program, SafeLot Parking, opened in November 2023 with 10 designated spaces available nightly from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m., and started with capacity for seven vehicles before expanding. Guests there receive showers, a hot meal and fellowship two nights a week, and the program partners with the House of Neighborly Service to help people transition into more permanent housing. SafeLot sites are typically existing parking lots used only during hours that would otherwise sit empty, with local churches often providing the space.
Longmont's SafeLot program, created by the homeless-outreach organization HOPE, offers overnight parking from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. and welcomes couples and pets, according to KUNC. At the time of that 2020 report, the program was already at capacity with eight vehicles and a waiting list. The same report noted that the 2020 Metro Denver point-in-time count found more than 6,100 people experiencing homelessness across seven counties, including 1,561 who were unsheltered.
Loveland SafeLot has also pointed to estimates that many Northern Colorado individuals and families shelter in vehicles on any given night, with as many as 1,000 people doing so statewide. For now, Fort Collins's own pilot remains unapproved, with its fate resting on the City Council's rescheduled Dec. 1 vote and the second reading expected to follow in mid-December.
