This Wednesday, November 5th at 11 AM, the Coalition on Homelessness is holding a press conference at the parklet on the southwest corner of 16th and Harrison. We’re calling on the city to halt the towing and displacement of San Franciscans living in their RVs.
The city’s RV parking ban went into effect on November 1, and threatens the survival of RV households. The Large Vehicle Refuge Permit Program was supposed to protect RV residents, but the reality has been a bureaucratic nightmare:
- As of October 28, only half of the over 500 RV residents have received permit stickers
- Nearly 100 residents were told they “don’t exist” in the city’s database and forced into a difficult appeals process as requirements keep changing
- The city worker has to place the sticker on the RV, but there is no office to get a permit.
- RV households face an impossible choice: accept any shelter offer even if it doesn’t meet their needs, or lose their permit and face towing
- Anyone without a sticker is subject to tow. They will not let people even apply for a permit after Saturday, even if they qualify for one.
The City does not have enough housing and shelter beds to offer the over 1,400 people living in their vehicles in San Francisco — not to mention the 4,000 on the street.
This really bugs me. This call to halt towing overlooks the damage that unregulated RV encampments have already caused to San Francisco’s neighborhoods and the environment. Large concentrations of RVs bring untreated waste, leaking fluids (yuk!), and uncontained trash into residential and industrial areas, flowing into storm drains and contaminating the Bay. Residents in SF have massively documented blocked hydrants, diesel spills, and illegal dumping associated with long-term parked RVs. This is not just a housing problem. It is an environmental and public health hazard that undermines the neighborhoods struggling to stay livable.
The initial intent behind the Large Vehicle Refuge Permit Program was sound: to bring order and accountability. The Coalition’s framing of it as “displacement” ignores the real harms to surrounding communities. RVs operating outside all codes often harbor hidden drug use and dealing, creating unsafe conditions neighbors. Organized groups exploit the unhoused by selling broken-down RVs and charging “rent”, turning desperation into income. The result is not compassion, but a shadow economy built on human misery.
San Francisco is finally waking up and turning around; this clean-up continues the revival. The city cannot continue tolerating dwellings that function outside every municipal and environmental rule. The current enforcement effort is not cruelty; it is basic urban maintenance and fairness to those who call San Francisco home, as well as workers and tourists — tourists who are starting to feel safe and returning to visit the city by the Bay. Mayor Lurie deserves credit for taking difficult and necessary steps to restore the city’s safety, beauty, and visitability.
EPILOGUE: “But where are they supposed to Gooooo-ohhhhh!!!???”
Oh, I’m sorry, you’re right. Forget everything I said. Nothing to see here. Carry on.
When I visited San Jose I noticed several RV’s lining the streets next to public parks where children play.
How safe is that?
“EPILOGUE: “But where are they supposed to Gooooo-ohhhhh!!!???”
BLM land? There’s lots of it, and they already have an RV. Lots of people (who would otherwise be homeless) already do so. Some of them make money by creating YouTube videos.
Frankly, I’d probably try it myself if I was in that situation. A lot safer and less hassle for myself, compared to parking on some street or parking lot.
If they actually have some kind of local, flunky job – I’d suggest pursuing that type of job in a less-expensive locale than San Francisco. In which case, they might even get themselves an “actual” place to permanently live.