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Board approves zoning and street vacation ordinances to facilitate temporary navigation center and allow temporary shelters in PDR zones
Summary
The Board approved two ordinances on first reading to allow temporary homeless shelters in production, distribution and repair (PDR) zones and to vacate a portion of 20 Fifth Street for a temporary navigation center; supervisors said navigation centers are needed to clear encampments and provide alternatives to street living.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed, on first reading, two ordinances related to homeless services: one to allow temporary homeless shelters in several PDR and mixed-use zoning districts, and a second to vacate a portion of 20 Fifth Street to facilitate a temporary navigation center and allow operation of the center on the vacated portion for more than two years.
Supervisor Kim, whose district includes much of the South of Market, said her district has taken on a disproportionate share of navigation centers and shelters and urged that other districts identify sites so the city can expand capacity across neighborhoods. She said the planning-code amendment would help sites in Western SOMA, mixed-use office, Service Arts Light Industrial and other zoning districts accommodate temporary shelters by subjecting them to conditional use authorization.
Supervisor Cohen described the local, multi-stakeholder process that led to the Dogpatch site selected for the navigation center, thanking the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, the Port, SFPD and Public Works for their work and acknowledging neighborhood participation in identifying the final location.
Supervisor Campos emphasized the operational connection between encampment resolution and available shelter capacity, saying he accompanied the Encampment Resolution Team on multiple visits and that clearing encampments requires available navigation-center beds. "Time and time again, every person that I've spoken to talks about how they want to get into a navigation center," Campos said.
The roll call vote for the two ordinances was unanimous (11 ayes). The board also discussed converting existing shelters into navigation centers where appropriate and using the city's shelter system to expand capacity. Supervisors urged continued coordination with the Department of Homelessness and community stakeholders to ensure beds and services are available when encampments are addressed.
