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Committee advances safe-parking pilot and vehicular triage ordinance after extensive public testimony
Summary
After lengthy sponsor remarks and more than a dozen public commenters — including people with lived experience — the committee accepted sponsor amendments, duplicated the file for further interagency work and forwarded the safe-parking ordinance as amended to the full Board with recommendation.
The Land Use & Transportation Committee on April 15 advanced an ordinance intended to create a vehicular triage center and a safe parking pilot for San Franciscans living in cars and RVs. Sponsor Supervisor Brown said the ordinance is a pilot and would provide three principal elements: a triage center to assess vulnerability and link people to services; a safe parking pilot for assessed participants (60–90 day stays); and a directive for the city’s real estate division to identify a city-owned site within three months. “Living in a car or an RV is usually a last ditch effort to stay off the streets,” Brown said, adding that the city’s October 2018 estimate found “432 inhabiting vehicles on the streets of San Francisco, including 313 RVs and a 119 passenger cars.”
Brown told the committee the mayor’s office committed $1 million to speed a launch and that the ordinance removes an earlier requirement to create a separate city fund to avoid extra bureaucracy. Commander Lazar of the San Francisco Police Department told supervisors SFPD will help develop a safety plan and work closely with sponsor offices and other agencies when a site is chosen. Jeff Kasitzi of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing said his agency supports the proposal and will work with the sponsor and partners on implementation.
More than a dozen members of the public and advocates testified, including people who said they have lived in vehicles and described tows, citations and safety concerns. Megan Johnson, who testified she had her converted bus towed with her children inside, said outreach found strong support among vehicle residents. Coalition on Homelessness representatives urged reversing enforcement and providing alternatives; other commenters urged hygiene facilities, case management and family-specific options.
Supervisor Matt Haney asked about families and storage; HSH staff said the plan would include vehicle storage and offer shelter immediately to families when appropriate, but that responses would be flexible and case-by-case. Supervisor Brown requested duplication of the file so staff can continue work with SFPD and the City Attorney on necessary police-code changes. The committee accepted the sponsor’s amendments and, without objection, duplicated the file, kept one file in committee for interagency follow-up, and sent the original file as amended to the full Board with recommendation.
