Planning Commission approves temporary navigation center at 125 Bayshore Boulevard

The San Francisco Planning Commission on April 12 approved a conditional use authorization to open a navigation center at 125 Bayshore Boulevard (also listed as 100 Barneveld Avenue) that will provide 128 shelter beds and space for social services.

Planning department staff described the project as a roughly 24,000‑square‑foot conversion of an existing office/warehouse that would include dorms, community rooms, laundry, storage, a 1,600‑square‑foot deck and two modular restroom/shower trailers. The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (DHSH) will operate the site in partnership with a nonprofit; the department said navigation centers are intended as service‑intensive, lower‑threshold facilities that allow residents to keep pets and personal effects and provide higher staffing ratios and case management than traditional shelters.

Emily Cohen of DHSH told the commission that navigation centers are a key part of the city’s strategy to address street homelessness. She cited systemwide figures discussed at the hearing: an estimated 7,500 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in San Francisco (about 4,300 unsheltered), roughly 1,200 regular shelter beds and about 355 navigation center beds across the system, and approximately 1,100 people on the shelter waiting list. Cohen said encampment resolution offers have a 65–70 percent take‑up rate and that, of people served by navigation centers to date, about 54 percent had a “positive exit” (to housing or another residential facility). She also described four types of navigation center beds, including pathway‑to‑housing beds with no fixed time limit for the most vulnerable clients and a general 60‑day length of stay for other beds.

Neighbors, small business owners and people with lived experience testified at the hearing. Supporters including Del Seymour of the Local Homes Coordinating Board and Laura Clark of MB Action said navigation centers are an important step toward housing people living on the street. Nearby business owner Peggy House said she fears increased parking pressure, sanitation issues and safety problems around the industrial area, and asked what protections the commission would require for local businesses. A person who identified as homeless and living on the street said the centers can operate as “revolving doors” for some clients and asked for data on long‑term housing outcomes.

Commissioners pressed staff on two recurring concerns: why the site’s authorization is temporary, and whether navigation centers produce durable exits to housing. Staff said the Board of Supervisors’ navigation‑center legislation defines the use as temporary and limits operations on some interim sites. They also said the city is pursuing longer‑duration sites (including two on Caltrans property) where longer operation is feasible. DHSH and operations staff described site safety measures — sprinklers, fire‑rated walls, 24‑hour staffing, perimeter gates with buzzing, cameras, and overhead lighting — and said the department worked with Public Works on site design.

Commissioner Moore moved to approve the conditional use authorization with conditions; the motion passed unanimously, with Commissioners Fong, Johnson, Coppell, Moore, Richards and Chair Melgar recorded as voting yes. The approval includes conditions intended to address neighborhood concerns about cleanliness, pedestrian access and site lighting; the commission and staff also discussed pursuing streetscape and lighting improvements in adjacent public rights‑of‑way with other city agencies.

The commission’s action allows the navigation center to proceed as a temporary, interim use; staff and proponents said success will depend on the city’s ability to place people into permanent housing after their navigation‑center stays.