San Francisco sets parking limit on RVs to clear vehicle dwellers off streets
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors this week gave initial approval to a law from Mayor Daniel Lurie that would impose strict two-hour parking limits for oversized vehicles to deal with the hundreds of people living in vehicles on city streets. The board voted to approve the plan in a 9-2 vote, with Supervisors Jackie Fielder and Shamann Walton voting no.
Lurie introduced the legislation in June as a way to tackle the proliferation of vehicle dwellers in San Francisco with a combination of increased funding, enforcement and outreach. For years, San Franciscans have seen people sleeping in vehicles and in RVs amid a dire housing affordability crisis.
The mayor's plan will impose a two-hour parking limit for oversized vehicles on all city streets, with the exception of commercial vehicles parked in industrial areas. Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who sponsored the legislation on behalf of the mayor, said the legislation also includes several additions made during negotiations with other supervisors and the mayor.
The law will include a refuge permit system, which will allow people living in vehicles to apply for a renewable 6-month permit, contingent on compliance with community rules around such things as waste disposal and neighborly behavior, as well as ongoing work with housing support services.
People living in RVs will also have access to a buyback program that will provide financial support for those willing to relinquish their vehicles in exchange for aid toward securing permanent housing. Both programs will allow the city to track RV dwellers in order to better provide them with services, Melgar said.
'In a city as wealthy as ours, I think it's on us to build a system to support people to success, and not pretend that by leaving them to be out on the streets, we are doing the progressive thing,' Melgar said.
The board's approval on Tuesday highlights how the alliance between a moderate majority on the Board of Supervisors and the mayor's office has significantly changed City Hall politics.
Just last year, Mayor London Breed was blocked from making minor changes to the city's parking rules by a progressive board of supervisors that often clashed with her. Now, a year later, Lurie has a moderate board working with him to push his agenda, having already passed laws to address the city's fentanyl crisis and permitting issues.
Melgar said Lurie's legislation is 'great progress' over what was proposed by Breed. The new policy is expected to go into effect this fall.
Despite her reservations about the plan, supervisor Connie Chan said she ultimately supported it because the mayor showed he is working in good faith to get RV dwellers housed and not just taking punitive action against them.
'San Francisco voters want us to deliver solutions with public dollars, and our city's most vulnerable cannot wait for the perfect policy,' Chan said. 'Mayor Lurie and his team and especially Supervisor Melgar have demonstrated in good faith that they have a thoughtful approach and compassionate solutions.'
But supervisor Walton was sharp in his criticism of the mayor's legislation.
'More RVs than shelter builds equals an ineffective and impossible plan… a plan to fail,' Walton said. ' T his would be an attack on people trying to have a shelter in this expensive city, and they would lose their only homes.'
For those living in RVs, the prospect of having nowhere to park legally has been stressful. During a walk near Lake Merced on Tuesday, San Francisco native Bill Russo told the Chronicle he lives in an RV because he wanted to be completely 'self-sufficient.'
Because he has secured a disabled person license plate, Russo only has to move his RV for street cleaning every two weeks, as opposed to the every four hours as required of other RVs in the area. But Russo said he will be subject to the new restriction and will likely receive a temporary special permit allowing him to park in the city for only six more months.
'I'm counting on the delays and the fact that this won't be executed,' Russo said
Meanwhile Devin Plant, a nearby RV dweller who said he has been parked in the city for just over a month, is mainly worried about what will happen to community members who don't have a way out.
RV dwellers are 'going to deal with harsher conditions,' Plant said, and will 'end up under a bridge."
"People don't understand this is what happens,' he said.
Plant plans to leave the city this week for a guest services job he has lined up in Yosemite National Park.
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