San Francisco Sun

San Francisco, CA - Mayor London N. Breed today proposed a new city law aimed at addressing the issue of oversized vehicle parking across San Francisco. The legislation seeks to give homeless outreach workers an additional tool to encourage individuals living in recreational vehicles (RVs) on city streets to accept shelter, housing, and services offered by the city.

Supervisors Joel Engardio, Catherine Stefani, Rafael Mandelman, and Matt Dorsey support the proposed legislation.

Currently, under the San Francisco Transportation Code, overnight parking by oversized vehicles is prohibited on certain streets but not all. The new proposal would make overnight parking by inhabited RVs a towable offense between midnight and 6 a.m., provided that offers of shelter or services are rejected. Existing restrictions will remain on already approved streets.

The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) and other city agencies frequently offer RV dwellers various services including repair and relocation assistance for their vehicles, access to shelters, rapid rehousing vouchers, permanent supportive housing, hotel vouchers, and relocation services through programs like Journey Home.

Since June, HSH has helped 50 households transition from vehicles on Winston Road and Zoo Road into long-term housing. Despite these efforts, many offers have been declined until towing was imminent. The proposed legislation aims to extend this approach citywide.

“San Francisco is a compassionate City that will always lead with offers for housing and shelter,” said Mayor Breed. “But we must enforce our laws to ensure that our streets are safe, livable, and accessible to everyone.”

Supervisor Joel Engardio emphasized the need for functioning streets: “Large RVs cannot be allowed to permanently take up multiple parking spaces... It is reasonable to tow an RV if an offer of shelter is refused.”

Supervisor Catherine Stefani highlighted the balance between compassion and accountability: “This legislation strikes the right balance... while mitigating health and safety risks on our streets.”

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman added: “It is not reasonable or fair to impacted neighborhoods to allow our public spaces to be converted into campgrounds.”

Supervisor Matt Dorsey noted safety concerns: “Allowing RVs as makeshift housing creates too many safety concerns... Our goal should be connecting unhoused residents to appropriate services while maintaining safe and clean streets.”

San Francisco has faced ongoing challenges with RVs parked on city streets causing public safety hazards such as impaired sight lines for road users and illegal dumping of waste. Limited available on-street parking exacerbates these issues.

The legislation will be considered by the SFMTA Board of Directors on October 1st. If passed, it will be enforced by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) in collaboration with the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD).

“City workers are out every day offering shelter and housing,” said Jeff Tumlin, SFMTA Director of Transportation. “This legislation will allow for parking enforcement when those offers have been refused.”

Mayor Breed has expanded San Francisco’s homelessness response system since taking office in 2018. This includes increasing shelter beds by over 70%, housing slots for formerly homeless individuals by over 50%, adding 400 behavioral health treatment beds, helping over 5,200 people exit homelessness in the past year alone.

“The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing is committed to continuing outreach,” said Shireen McSpadden executive director of HSH. "We will use available resources to move people out of vehicles into safe housing options."

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