HOMELESS COMMUNITY ADVOCATES and residents living in recreational vehicles in San Francisco rallied against the city’s ban of long-term RV parking as the new policy went into effect at the start of this month.

“Stop the violence, stop the tows,” the crowd chanted during Wednesday’s rally. “Everyone deserves a home!”

On Saturday, the city’s large vehicle and RV parking restrictions began after the Board of Supervisors passed legislation in July. RVs without a “Large Vehicle Refuge Permit” that park for more than two hours in a spot are now subject to citation or being towed. 

“Our kids deserve to grow up with both safe, stable homes and clean, accessible sidewalks — and we can only provide that by getting RVs off the street and helping families move into permanent housing,” Charles Kretchmer Lutvak, a spokesperson for Mayor Daniel Lurie, said in a statement.

According to the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, there were about 400 RVs parked on city streets as of September. DEM was charged with conducting outreach to people living in RVs to notify them of the new policy and permit requirement. 

“That process unfolded with daily outreach for a period of two months,” said DEM spokesperson Jackie Thornhill in an interview. “Beginning in October, they actually started enrolling people in the permit program.”

Through the Large Vehicle Refuge Permit program, RV dwellers had to apply for a permit that lasts six months, exempting their vehicles from citations and towing. Part of that program is providing people living in RVs with guaranteed spots in permanent supportive housing.

But the Coalition on Homelessness, an organization that advocates for unhoused populations, says that the city undercounted the number of RVs and did not notify every RV resident of the new policy.

“There were online portals that people didn’t know about,” said the coalition’s executive director Jennifer Friedenbach in a speech. “There was an appeals process because they missed over 100 RVs.”

As of Saturday, DEM granted permits to 322 RVs, according to Thornhill. The criteria for receiving a permit was that the RV owner had to prove residency in San Francisco at any point this year. 

These RVs offer a safe place, and they’re actually much more sustainably housed than the folks that are on the street who actually need that shelter right away. Gabriel Medina, La Raza Community Resource Center

DEM also said that RV dwellers are now toward the top of the wait list to receive permanent supportive housing within the six months before the permit expires, since the eventual goal is to move unhoused people in RVs off the street. Those who did not receive a permit will still be offered a housing spot, according to Thornhill.

“We as the city have now obligated ourselves to offer permanent housing or some sort of private, non-congregate temporary housing,” Thornhill said. “It’s baked into the program that if you have a permit, we are not going to enforce that two-hour rule on you until we have made you a specific offer of housing or non-congregate temporary housing.”

Homeless community advocates say that there are not enough open beds for permanent shelter, and that the city should instead prioritize sheltering those living on the streets instead of those in RVs.

“These RVs offer a safe place, and they’re actually much more sustainably housed than the folks that are on the street who actually need that shelter right away,” said Gabriel Medina, executive director of the La Raza Community Resource Center, which provides social services for low-income families and individuals.

Nowhere to go

The Coalition on Homelessness said that RVs are an innovative way for low-income people and families to deal with homelessness, and that there should be safe parking sites to accommodate them.

“We want to see the city open up safe parking sites,” Friedenbach said. “That is what the people who are living in RVs, who were not consulted when this policy rolled out, are calling for. They simply want a safe place to park.”

There are currently no safe parking sites in San Francisco. The only safe parking site for unhoused people living in vehicles was closed earlier this year.

The towed RVs are being taken to piers in the city’s Dogpatch neighborhood, where they will be held temporarily and then dismantled. 

That move has drawn scrutiny from District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, who represents neighborhoods in the southeast part of the city. 

“They are secretly trying to quietly trash District 10 again by storing towed RVs at Pier 68 after the mayor failed to deliver his promise of creating 1,500 shelter beds by this past June,” Walton said in a statement. 

Several citations have already been issued and at least two RVs were towed Wednesday for not having permits and parking for more than two hours, according to Thornhill. 

Alise Maripuu is an intern at BCN with a focus on covering the Peninsula. Originally from San Carlos, Alise discovered her passion for journalism after studying abroad in Thailand during her senior year attending UC Santa Cruz. Her experience in Thailand taught her the consequences for democracy when living in a society with strict laws against free speech. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history, Alise took courses in journalism at Skyline Community College to learn how to write for news. As the Chief Copy Editor on Skyline’s student-run newspaper for the 2023-24 school year, Alise gained editing and managing experience leading a team of reporters. She covered hyperlocal stories affecting her campus such as the rise in food and housing insecurity. Alise wants to focus on data journalism.