Supervisors advance emergency ordinance to keep 2,200 SIP hotel rooms available and filled

The Budget & Finance Committee on Feb. 24 voted to forward an amended emergency ordinance that would require the city to maintain and fill a minimum of about 2,200 Shelter‑in‑Place (SIP) hotel rooms and to prioritize keeping current SIP guests sheltered until permanent housing placements are available.

Chair Supervisor Matt Haney said the ordinance is intended to protect nearly 2,000 people who have sheltered in hotels during the COVID‑19 pandemic and to expand capacity so more people on the street and in shelters can come inside. "We must move with urgency to acquire some of these hotels more permanently or other buildings we are not currently in contract with to create permanent housing," Haney said during the committee hearing.

Human Services Agency Executive Director Trent Rohrer and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) interim director Abigail Stewart Khan described the current operational picture. HSA provided a snapshot showing about 112 rooms ready for immediate placement and another roughly 255 rooms that staff were turning over for use; HSH reported roughly 144 SIP guests had moved into permanent housing placements in the system’s rehousing cohort, with larger numbers of additional units funded or coming online in the months ahead. HSH said 355 permanent supportive‑housing units were ready for placement and that another 661 units were offline or coming online soon.

DPH health‑policy lead Deborah Bourne explained how SIP eligibility and FEMA reimbursement rules have evolved; the city has broadened some eligibility (including self‑reported smokers and certain behavioral‑health conditions) to increase FEMA‑reimbursable placements and, officials said, to reduce the program’s net impact on the general fund. Bourne said staff are working to document eligibility and to improve electronic medical coding to support claims.

Committee members pressed HSH and HSA on why many SIP guests decline offers to move into some permanent supportive‑housing options (HSH cited site‑specific issues such as lack of private bathrooms, incentive gaps and trauma‑related hesitancy). HSH said it is piloting a “batch referral” approach and has begun targeted incentives and outreach to increase acceptance rates.

The hearing included extensive public comment from homeless‑service providers, tenants’ advocates, medical students, and SIP residents urging stronger protections and more aggressive rehousing. Several providers urged suspending certain centralized referral constraints while the system is scaled up.

Chair Haney offered minor non‑substantive amendments; the committee approved the amendments and voted to send the amended emergency ordinance to the full Board with a positive recommendation. The ordinance as passed by the committee would remain in effect for 60 days; Haney said staff will return with a permanent ordinance that aims to balance rehousing goals with the need to continue shelter operations while FEMA funding remains available.

The committee recorded the motion and roll call; the item will be considered by the full Board next.

What happens next: The ordinance moves to the Board of Supervisors with a positive committee recommendation; HSH and HSA said they would continue operational changes (batch referrals, incentives, targeted outreach) and will provide regular data updates on vacancies and rehousing progress.