June 17, 2025
Lurie’s plan helps the most people.
If you’ve driven through certain parts of the city, you’ve likely seen a block with more than a few RVs parked, one right after another. But if you drive through certain parts of Lake Merced (in District 7) or the Bayview (in District 10), you’ll see entire blocks - oftentimes, right near or even in residential neighborhoods.
There are over 1,000 people living in RVs in San Francisco. Many of them have been priced out of the San Francisco housing market, but have avoided the shelter system by using an RV as an intermediary stopping point. The problem is that these stopping points have become full-blown stops.
This proliferation of oversized vehicles parked on city streets has angered residents who complain about impaired lines of sight for drivers, illegal dumping and less on-street parking. Team Blueprint was down in District 7 earlier this year to see the RVs first-hand; in many instances, the RVs had compromised structural integrity, and in just as many instances, there was an excess of debris and garbage surrounding these vehicles.
Of course, it’s hard not to acknowledge the humanity here: for most San Franciscans calling these RVs home, the quality of life is not the San Francisco dream. We need to address the affordability crisis in this city that is driving people out of our city. But, like with the addiction and mental health crisis, at Blueprint, we don’t think it’s compassionate to simply accept the status quo to the detriment of those most affected by the laws (or lack thereof). Homelessness is a problem that all of us San Franciscans should not only care about, but should also feel a sense of commitment toward solving. Supporting policies that actually address RV homelessness is a great start in that endeavor.
Mayor Daniel Lurie has a plan to start chipping away at RV homelessness - it’s a balanced approach that increases the resources available for those currently experiencing RV homelessness while also strengthening the law to prevent new instances of RV homelessness from occurring. For example, while the Mayor is proposing a law that would largely prevent RVs for being parked on any city streets for more than two hours, he’s also sending caseworkers to go offer transition resources (including housing) to those who would be affected. These caseworkers would aim to connect people with “an appropriate offer” of a bed in a non-group shelter or permanent housing.
The Mayor has earmarked $12.9 million in his budget to implement his plan. That includes $8.2 million for 65 new housing vouchers, and $1.7 million for outreach by the city’s homelessness department. In a deficit environment when it comes to our city budget, the net new allocation of resources to address this problem is both a signal of the seriousness of this problem, and the Mayor’s seriousness in his commitment to ending RV homelessness. This plan is still cheaper than former Mayor London Breed’s failed safe parking site, which cost $18 million and resulted in exactly two permanent supportive housing placements.
Some will suggest that this is part of the war on homelessness in San Francisco. Yet in the same breath, they will fail to provide any pragmatic, reasonable, or close-in solutions. In reality, Mayor Lurie’s plan is just a reimplementation of a previously-in-place parking ban on RVs that was paused during the Pandemic.
Mayor Lurie’s legislation is different from previous attempts to address RV homelessness because it’s not purely an enforcement mechanism; it’s also an earnest attempt to provide services to people who need them. Good governance looks like maximizing the best possible outcome for the most people, as expeditiously as possible: clearing the streets and keeping them clean, while preventing other people from coming here and taking advantage of lax parking laws, is the best path forward to achieving this end.
