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Board urges acquisition after owner declines to renew Oasis Inn lease; calls for extension to avoid family displacements
Summary
The board unanimously adopted a resolution urging the mayor and Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing to prevent displacement of families at the Oasis Inn and to pursue acquisition so the 59-room family shelter can remain open.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution Dec. 13 urging the mayor and Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) to prevent the displacement of families at the Oasis Inn (900 Franklin St.) and to complete acquisition of the property so shelter operations for families can continue.
Speakers, including supervisors and multiple public commenters who live at or work with families at Oasis, described the facility as the city's only low-barrier family emergency shelter that serves pregnant people, victims of domestic violence and families with children. Commenters said the site is on a short timeline: the owner informed the city the lease would end Jan. 3 and said the owner would not renew.
Supervisor Dean Preston, the measure's principal author, told colleagues he learned in September that the owner had notified the city of intent to sell; he said there had not been sufficient follow-through to acquire the property. "Every single family in the 59-room shelter will be gone," he said, calling for "an extension so that we can all in good faith come to the table and make this deal happen."
The resolution asks the mayor and HSH to complete due diligence and pursue acquisition or a nonprofit purchase; it also requests HSH not to move residents out unless permanent housing options are available and to provide monthly reporting to appropriate city departments.
Public commenters and member organizations, including the Coalition on Homelessness, Larkin Street Youth Services and housing advocates, told the board the closure would create a significant human-services and child-safety crisis during winter and the holidays.
Why this matters: Oasis is among the city's few family shelters with private rooms, shower and other services; losing the building would reduce family shelter capacity by about 25% and risk pushing pregnant people and children into unsheltered conditions. The board's resolution is a formal request to the mayor and HSH to stop displacement, secure an acquisition path and consider interim lease extensions while fundraising and acquisition are negotiated.
Discussion vs. decision: The resolution does not itself authorize any city purchase; rather, the board urged the executive branch to take specified steps and sought monthly reporting. The board adopted the measure unanimously.
Ending: Supervisors said they would continue oversight and support efforts by private donors and nonprofits to acquire the property; organizers and residents said they would stay engaged in the acquisition process.
