Board urges Port and HSH to keep Pier 94 RV site open to avoid evicting 100+ residents

The Board of Supervisors on May 9 adopted a resolution asking the Port of San Francisco, the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) and related oversight bodies to keep the Pier 94 Backlands temporary shelter site open and to avoid evicting more than 100 people who have lived there in RVs since the COVID pandemic.

Supervisor Dean Preston and Supervisor Matt Walton were among members who described the site as a non-congregate shelter established during the pandemic. The units are equipped with water, electricity, showers and onsite services, officials said; Walton told the board that HSH had no guaranteed alternative placements for everyone living at the site. “This action would be a travesty and mean that over 100 people, mostly Black, will be put on the street with no alternative placement,” Walton said.

The board adopted the resolution without objection and several supervisors urged the administration to expand similar safe-parking and RV programs citywide, saying they are preferable to sending people back to the street.

Why it matters: Supervisors said the request is intended to preserve placements created during the pandemic and to avoid worsening the city’s homelessness crisis by removing dozens of households without a guaranteed alternative. The action also underscores ongoing tensions between city departments, the Port and community advocates about where and how to provide emergency, non-congregate shelter.

What the resolution asks: The measure urges the Port Commission, HSH and the Homelessness Oversight Commission to keep Pier 94 available while the city develops long-term options for RV residents. Supervisors said they remain committed to increasing placements citywide and urged the administration to accelerate work on safe-parking and long-term housing solutions.

Outcome: The resolution was adopted unanimously on May 9.