Supervisor Yi introduces ordinance to require rental-car firms to remove visible identifiers to curb auto break-ins

Supervisor Norman Yee introduced an ordinance April 11 that would require rental car companies operating in San Francisco and at San Francisco International Airport to remove visible identifiers such as barcodes, logos and decals from vehicles to make them less identifiable to burglars.

Yee told the Board that following a five-year high in auto break-ins the city must use multiple strategies: policing, neighborhood watches, signage, camera pilots and private industry cooperation. He said rental cars are frequently targeted because decals and windshield markings identify them as rentals and make them both an obvious target and a magnet for thefts of nearby resident vehicles.

The ordinance would apply to rental operators doing business in the city and at the airport; details of enforcement, penalties and an implementation timetable were not specified during the introduction. Yee said the change is "one small part of the solution" and that he expects the ordinance to move through the board process with community and industry engagement. He also noted prior related council actions, including requirements that rental firms provide written disclosures to customers warning them about leaving valuables in vehicles.

Yee said he had secured funding for a neighborhood camera pilot and for increased public signage and asked colleagues for support as the measure moves through committee and hearings. The item was introduced in the "introduction of new business" portion of the meeting and no final vote was taken that day.