Committee backs sending park-code change forward to broaden camping ban and extend sleeping hours

SAN FRANCISCO — The Government Audits and Oversight Committee on Thursday recommended forwarding an ordinance that would broaden San Francisco Park Code sections 3.12 and 3.13 to more clearly define illegal camping and to expand the hours during which sleeping is prohibited from 10 p.m.–6 a.m. to 8 p.m.–8 a.m.

Chair Sean Ellsburn convened the committee and introduced the item, which the mayor’s office brought forward and the Recreation and Park Department presented. "What we have before you is a proposed amendment to two sections of the park code," said Yomi Agambiani, general manager of the Recreation and Park Department, who described new language that would prohibit structures or devices used for housing or cooking, landscape modification to create shelters, and the accumulation of household or construction debris in parks. Agambiani said the changes are intended to allow earlier intervention, reduce park damage and improve public safety.

Agambiani cited the department’s cleanup work in Golden Gate Park between July and October: "There were 2,768 encampment sites that were cleaned" and "219 tons of trash and debris" removed, he said, arguing that daytime enforcement has been limited by the code’s prior focus on large structures.

Trent Rohr, director of the Human Services Agency, told supervisors the proposed change is meant to pair outreach with enforcement. Rohr said outreach teams contacted "over three months, 876 individuals, only about 19% of whom are actually in our services now," and that approximately 171 people accepted shelter offers, 53 accepted "homeward bound" transportation and about 170 were placed in temporary beds. Rohr said fixed hours make it logistically easier for outreach and shelter-reservation staff to engage people and arrange transport and storage for belongings.

Some supervisors asked whether fixed 8 p.m.–8 a.m. hours were preferable to dusk-to-dawn rules. Agambiani and Rohr said a fixed clock time prevents a daily loophole when dusk and dawn shift, simplifies enforcement, and improves staff safety during engagement.

The City Attorney advised the committee the proposal "expands prohibitions that exist and have existed" and said the office had "approved this as to form" and is prepared to defend the ordinance if it is litigated.

Public comment ran more than an hour and highlighted sharp disagreement. Sister Berna Galvin, speaking for the Leadership of Religious Witness with Homeless People, urged the supervisors to reject the amendments, saying they would expand punitive enforcement and result in more citations and costs. "If Mayor Gavin Newsom truly sees this whole quality of life enforcement issue as systemically unjust," she said, "it is difficult to understand why his administration has been more aggressive in this regard than any mayor over the past 15 years." (Full speaker list and excerpts of public comment are below.)

Legal and advocacy speakers raised Jones v. Los Angeles — the Ninth Circuit decision that found certain enforcement of camping prohibitions unconstitutional where no alternative shelter exists — as a caution. Elisa Della Fiana of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights told the committee that issuing criminal penalties without available alternatives risks the result the courts in the Jones litigation found unlawful.

Supporters including park volunteers and the Neighborhood Parks Council framed the proposal as a parks-preservation and public-safety measure. "We urge you to support the changes in this ordinance that would allow the park staff and others to enforce maintaining quality of life in our parks for all park users," said Meredith Thomas of the Neighborhood Parks Council.

Supervisors pressed staff on current practice. Agambiani and Rohr said parks are officially closed from 10 p.m.–6 a.m., but outreach teams generally operate before dawn (about 4:30–6:30 a.m.), during which time staff issue citations and offer services; staff said the city maintains an electronic bed-listing system and estimated nightly shelter vacancies in the range of roughly 100–150 beds, and that single-park encounters in Golden Gate Park commonly range from about 50 people to a couple of hundred on a given night.

After hearing testimony, Chair Ellsburn said he was persuaded both by the need to protect parks and by staff assertions that the change would improve outreach opportunities. "For me, I am swayed by two factors: protecting our parks and improving services," Ellsburn said. With the consent of a colleague, he moved to send the item forward with a committee recommendation; the committee agreed and the meeting was adjourned.

What the ordinance would change

- Broaden the definition of illegal camping to include: cooking devices, accumulated household furniture and appliances, construction debris used to build shelters, and landscape alteration to create shelter. - Shift the hours during which sleeping in parks is prohibited from 10 p.m.–6 a.m. to 8 p.m.–8 a.m., though staff told supervisors they could prepare bifurcated (seasonal) hours if the committee requests.

Legal and practical questions raised

Advocates warned the committee that criminal enforcement without guaranteed shelter capacity can lead to warrants, which may block access to housing and other services. City officials countered that extending the window for engagement should increase opportunities to offer shelter and transport and that the ordinance would be paired with outreach rather than being solely punitive.

Committee action and next steps

The committee voted to send the ordinance forward with a recommendation; staff were asked to work with supervisors on precise hours language during committee follow-up. No final codified ordinance was adopted at the meeting; the item will proceed through the city's legislative process.

Speakers (selected; first appearance and role as stated in the transcript)

- Sean Ellsburn, chair, Government Audits and Oversight Committee (chair) - Michaela Alioto Pier, vice chair (supervisor) - Yomi Agambiani, general manager, Recreation and Park Department (presenter) - Trent Rohr, director, Human Services Agency (presenter) - City Attorney (responded on legal risk and form approval) - Sister Berna Galvin (Leadership of Religious Witness with Homeless People) - Elisa Della Fiana (Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights) - Jennifer Friedenbach, director, Coalition on Homelessness - Elihu Hernandez (homeless advocate) - Paul Boden (homeless program advocate) - Quentin Mackey (shelter monitoring committee) - Dr. Ahimsa Porter Soum Chai (Parkside resident) - Dan Hinton (supporter) - Meredith Thomas (Neighborhood Parks Council) - Eric Casale (Lower Street Community Services)

Votes at a glance

- Motion to excuse Supervisor Daley: made at the start of the meeting and approved "without objection." (formal mover/second not recorded in the transcript) - Committee moved to send Item 1 forward with a recommendation (moved by Chair Sean Ellsburn with a colleague's consent); item forwarded for further legislative consideration.

Authorities, references and legal context

- San Francisco Park Code, sections 3.12 and 3.13 (ordinance under consideration) - Court precedent cited in public comment: Jones v. Los Angeles (referenced as legal context regarding camping enforcement where no shelter alternatives exist)

Clarifying details (numbers and sources as stated in the meeting)

- Encampments cleaned in Golden Gate Park July–October: 2,768 sites (source: Yomi Agambiani presentation) - Trash/debris removed in the same period: "219 tons" (source: Yomi Agambiani presentation) - Outreach contacts cited: "over three months, 876 individuals" with roughly 19% currently in services (source: Trent Rohr) - Shelter placements/offers cited: 171 accepted shelter offers; 53 transported via "homeward bound"; ~170 temporary beds (source: Trent Rohr) - Typical Golden Gate Park nightly encounter: "50 to a couple hundred" people (source: Yomi Agambiani/Trent Rohr)

Proper names (extracted from transcript)

- Golden Gate Park (park) - Buena Vista Park (park) - Recreation and Park Department (agency) - Human Services Agency (agency) - Department of Public Works (agency) - San Francisco Police Department (agency) - Neighborhood Parks Council (organization) - Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights (organization) - Coalition on Homelessness (organization) - Shelter Monitoring Committee (committee) - Transbay Terminal (location) - Thirteenth and Mission (location of 24-hour drop-in center referenced) - 150 Otis Street (storage/office address referenced)

Searchable tags:["parks","homelessness","park_code","San_Francisco","public_safety","outreach"]

Provenance:{"topicintro":{"block_id_start":"SEG 018","block_id_end":"SEG 026","reason_code":"topicintro","evidence_excerpt":"Item 1, ordinance amending San Francisco Park Code section 3.12 to prohibit..."},"topfinish":{"block_id_start":"SEG 1211","block_id_end":"SEG 1249","reason_code":"topicfinish","evidence_excerpt":"I'd like to send this item forward with recommendation."}}