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Board committee continues encampment-removal ordinance after lengthy public debate; DHSH outlines mapping and engagement
Summary
The committee advanced further stakeholder work on an ordinance that would authorize an encampment-removal process when housing or shelter is available. Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (DHSH) outlined mapping, weekly encampment-resolution coordination and navigation-center results; public commenters were sharply divided between calls for housing-first solutions and business/merchant concerns about public-safety impacts.
Supervisor Jane Kim moved Item 5 forward for an early staff presentation and described legislation to codify best practices for removing encampments only when housing or shelter is available and to authorize the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (DHSH) to develop protocols.
Sam Dodge, chief deputy at DHSH, told the committee the department has budget authority since Aug. 15 and is using a mapping and encampment-resolution team that convenes weekly with outreach workers, Department of Public Health, SFPD, Port, Public Works and other partners. Dodge said the department tracks between 70 and 80 locations with large-scale encampments and cited the navigation center model, which he said has successfully moved almost 700 people into shelter. He described a recent site response at Islas Creek that offered toilets and dumpsters, resulted in no arrests, provided shelter options and removed more than 20,000 pounds of debris.
Supervisors asked whether legislation prescribing notice timelines and removal procedures would help; Dodge said he favored continuing to refine operational best practices rather than locking a single approach into law immediately, noting legal limits cities face and the need to build trust for outreach. Board members emphasized housing as the long-term solution and questioned short notice periods when shelter capacity is limited. Supervisor Jane Kim explained her intent — to codify national best practices referenced in the USICH guidance and avoid criminalization, while ensuring encampment removal occurs only when housing or shelter is available.
Public testimony ran more than an hour and included competing perspectives. Advocates and formerly homeless speakers (Jennifer Friedenbach, Kelly Cutler, Jordan Gwendolyn Davis, Sarah Menefee) said rapid sweeps without a housing option harm people and urged investment in housing and services; they opposed criminalization and argued that rushed removal without exits does not work. Business and merchant representatives (Gwen Kaplan, Jim Lazarus, Henry Kanilewicz) described discarded needles and impacts on customers and called for faster removal and more visible action. Other commenters suggested alternative shelter locations and stressed limits of current capacity.
After extended questioning and public comment, Supervisor David Campos moved to continue item 5 to the call of the chair so staff and stakeholders could refine timelines, notice periods and shelter guarantees; the motion passed without recorded opposition.
Next steps: the committee will continue to work with DHSH and community stakeholders to refine the ordinance’s language and operational protocols prior to returning the item to committee.
