| Committee Approves Anti-Immigrant RV ban Despite Overwhelming Opposition Yesterday was brutal. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget committee voted to pass a ban on RV’s. A two hour time limit city wide on all large vehicles over 22 feet. Even when one of our mothers was sobbing at the microphone, not one policy maker moved to assure or comfort her. Folks living in RVs are scared. We are certainly at a low point in our movement, and social justice movements everywhere in the US are getting hit. That said, the work and voices that were brought together were beautiful to behold. We are getting stronger despite the environment we are working within. Our allies, our members, our staff, our interns are all working tirelessly to make sure people who live in RV’s do not lose their only shelter and end up on the street. To make sure they are not cast out of San Francisco away from sanctuary protections, away from jobs, away from schools, away from medical care and away from community. We are fighting back. We are fighting back hard. We will not stop. We will prevail. The plan beyond a 2 hour time limit is to offer permits to those living in their vehicles BUT only if they happened to be added to the list of license plates the city created at the end of May of RVs they suspected people to be living in (no process laid out for if they missed you). Permits would be for 6 months, with a possible 6 month extension (no process laid out). Extension beyond 12 months with permission from Director of DHSH (surprise– no process laid out to get this). Many ways to get your permit revoked including violating a good neighbor policy that has not been written or turning down an offer of housing with no protections for when they offer you an inaccessible option. There were some broad amendments made by Supervisors Chan and Melgar that encouraged the SFMTA to do more work to have temporary permits for newcomers, laying out the appeal process if someone was not included in the secret database, a good neighbor policy, and an appeal if someone is wrongly denied a permit. But none of those protections are spelled out in the legislation. And a lot can go wrong given there are over 400 households living in RV’s, and a whole lot of cracks in the plan. So why pass legislation when so many questions go unanswered – why not work with RV community members to address concerns first? Our next steps are to try to kill it at the board on the votes taking place on Tuesday July 15th and Tuesday the 22nd, and as it is likely to pass, try to get good amendments back at the SFMTA, something the amendments at the Board of Supervisors directed. We will also try to get the Mayor’s office to adopt basic protections via a fair policy and procedures guidelines. It feels as if the entire soul of San Francisco is at risk with this brutal move. Our efforts, along with all those fighting deportations, and other injustices will help demonstrate SF is a still a place of resistance. It just doesn’t have to be this way. Your voice can help make it that with the two following steps: STEP 1: SEND AN EMAIL TO CITY LEADERS Send an email to city leaders using our email template To: Connie.Chan@sfgov.org; Joel.Engardio@sfgov.org; Matt.Dorsey@sfgov.org; Myrna.Melgar@sfgov.org; Rafael.Mandelman@sfgov.org; Shamann.Walton@sfgov.org; Joel.Engardio@sfgov.org; Bilal.Mahmood@sfgov.org; Danny.Sauter@sfgov.org; Chyanne.Chen@sfgov.org; Jackie.Fielder@sfgov.org; board.of.supervisors@sfgov.org CC: Brent.Jalipa@sfgov.org; angela.calvillo@sfgov.org Subject: Reject RV Ban – Will Increase Street Homelessness Dear Board of Supervisors, My name is [NAME] with [ORGANIZATION or NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE YOU LIVE/WORK]. Please reject the 2-hour restriction on RV parking, introduced by Mayor Lurie. Without appropriate offers to housing readily available, this will harm people across the city, especially those who use their RVs as homes, because this effort will increase street homelessness. This approach targets working class San Franciscans and punishes people just trying to survive in this city. It comes at the worst possible time, when immigrants and people of color are already facing unprecedented attacks from our federal government. If people’s RVs are towed, they will lose their only form of shelter. The City does not have enough housing and shelter beds to offer the over 1,400 people living in their vehicles in San Francisco. Family homelessness has doubled. There are 295 families (872 people) on the family shelter waitlist and over 471 individuals on the single adult waitlist. The City counted 437 occupied large vehicles in May 2025, yet only 65 new rapid rehousing subsidies are being made available as part of this plan. These housing options are also coming at the expense of people in shelter and on the street who have desperately been waiting for housing resources. People will spend longer stuck in shelter or on the street because the few available resources will be diverted to households in RVs. There is not enough deeply affordable housing, which is why many individuals and families end up living in RVs. This plan limits who gets refuge permits to the RV residents who were found during a two week period when the city attempted to count every single vehicle across the city. Any vehicle that they missed, at no fault of the residents, would be subject to enforcement and could end up on the street. The permits would expire after at most 12 months unless they are able to secure an extension from the head of DHSH. Then households would be targeted for tows even though they had never been offered services. It takes a long time to find housing or even non-congregate shelter. With the City potentially trying to help hundreds of households, this will easily take over a year, and those who are not helped could end up homeless on the street. People who live in RVs are not going to disappear or all leave the city; enacting a citywide ban would only push people into tents and deeper instability. In a time when the City is facing a huge fiscal deficit, this ban will waste already limited SFMTA and SFPD resources, while only creating more chaos on the streets. If you want to help people living in RVs, focus on providing them with real housing solutions. Towing and displacement helps no one. Thank you, [NAME] STEP 2: JOIN US IN ROOM 250 CITY HALL AT 2PM TO STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH RV COMMUNITY On Tuesday July 15th and Tuesday the 22nd the ordinance is going to the full board, conveniently so the full Board of Supervisor meetings do not permit public comment, but we encourage our allies, supporters and community to join us in City Hall Room 250 at 2pm to stand in solidarity with the families and individuals that will be devastated by this RV Ban. We cannot take the stand to advocate for RV residents, but we can be present to showcase our stance, bear witness to the injustice taking place as part of the fight in holding our mayor, our city supervisors and city government accountable for their unjust actions. We hope to see you there! We appreciate your support, let’s keep fighting this together! |
| Committee Approves Anti-Immigrant RV ban Despite Overwhelming Opposition Yesterday was brutal. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget committee voted to pass a ban on RV’s. A two hour time limit city wide on all large vehicles over 22 feet. Even when one of our mothers was sobbing at the microphone, not one policy maker moved to assure or comfort her. Folks living in RVs are scared. We are certainly at a low point in our movement, and social justice movements everywhere in the US are getting hit. That said, the work and voices that were brought together were beautiful to behold. We are getting stronger despite the environment we are working within. Our allies, our members, our staff, our interns are all working tirelessly to make sure people who live in RV’s do not lose their only shelter and end up on the street. To make sure they are not cast out of San Francisco away from sanctuary protections, away from jobs, away from schools, away from medical care and away from community. We are fighting back. We are fighting back hard. We will not stop. We will prevail. The plan beyond a 2 hour time limit is to offer permits to those living in their vehicles BUT only if they happened to be added to the list of license plates the city created at the end of May of RVs they suspected people to be living in (no process laid out for if they missed you). Permits would be for 6 months, with a possible 6 month extension (no process laid out). Extension beyond 12 months with permission from Director of DHSH (surprise– no process laid out to get this). Many ways to get your permit revoked including violating a good neighbor policy that has not been written or turning down an offer of housing with no protections for when they offer you an inaccessible option. There were some broad amendments made by Supervisors Chan and Melgar that encouraged the SFMTA to do more work to have temporary permits for newcomers, laying out the appeal process if someone was not included in the secret database, a good neighbor policy, and an appeal if someone is wrongly denied a permit. But none of those protections are spelled out in the legislation. And a lot can go wrong given there are over 400 households living in RV’s, and a whole lot of cracks in the plan. So why pass legislation when so many questions go unanswered – why not work with RV community members to address concerns first? Our next steps are to try to kill it at the board on the votes taking place on Tuesday July 15th and Tuesday the 22nd, and as it is likely to pass, try to get good amendments back at the SFMTA, something the amendments at the Board of Supervisors directed. We will also try to get the Mayor’s office to adopt basic protections via a fair policy and procedures guidelines. It feels as if the entire soul of San Francisco is at risk with this brutal move. Our efforts, along with all those fighting deportations, and other injustices will help demonstrate SF is a still a place of resistance. It just doesn’t have to be this way. Your voice can help make it that with the two following steps: STEP 1: SEND AN EMAIL TO CITY LEADERS Send an email to city leaders using our email template To: Connie.Chan@sfgov.org; Joel.Engardio@sfgov.org; Matt.Dorsey@sfgov.org; Myrna.Melgar@sfgov.org; Rafael.Mandelman@sfgov.org; Shamann.Walton@sfgov.org; Joel.Engardio@sfgov.org; Bilal.Mahmood@sfgov.org; Danny.Sauter@sfgov.org; Chyanne.Chen@sfgov.org; Jackie.Fielder@sfgov.org; board.of.supervisors@sfgov.org CC: Brent.Jalipa@sfgov.org; angela.calvillo@sfgov.org Subject: Reject RV Ban – Will Increase Street Homelessness Dear Board of Supervisors, My name is [NAME] with [ORGANIZATION or NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE YOU LIVE/WORK]. Please reject the 2-hour restriction on RV parking, introduced by Mayor Lurie. Without appropriate offers to housing readily available, this will harm people across the city, especially those who use their RVs as homes, because this effort will increase street homelessness. This approach targets working class San Franciscans and punishes people just trying to survive in this city. It comes at the worst possible time, when immigrants and people of color are already facing unprecedented attacks from our federal government. If people’s RVs are towed, they will lose their only form of shelter. The City does not have enough housing and shelter beds to offer the over 1,400 people living in their vehicles in San Francisco. Family homelessness has doubled. There are 295 families (872 people) on the family shelter waitlist and over 471 individuals on the single adult waitlist. The City counted 437 occupied large vehicles in May 2025, yet only 65 new rapid rehousing subsidies are being made available as part of this plan. These housing options are also coming at the expense of people in shelter and on the street who have desperately been waiting for housing resources. People will spend longer stuck in shelter or on the street because the few available resources will be diverted to households in RVs. There is not enough deeply affordable housing, which is why many individuals and families end up living in RVs. This plan limits who gets refuge permits to the RV residents who were found during a two week period when the city attempted to count every single vehicle across the city. Any vehicle that they missed, at no fault of the residents, would be subject to enforcement and could end up on the street. The permits would expire after at most 12 months unless they are able to secure an extension from the head of DHSH. Then households would be targeted for tows even though they had never been offered services. It takes a long time to find housing or even non-congregate shelter. With the City potentially trying to help hundreds of households, this will easily take over a year, and those who are not helped could end up homeless on the street. People who live in RVs are not going to disappear or all leave the city; enacting a citywide ban would only push people into tents and deeper instability. In a time when the City is facing a huge fiscal deficit, this ban will waste already limited SFMTA and SFPD resources, while only creating more chaos on the streets. If you want to help people living in RVs, focus on providing them with real housing solutions. Towing and displacement helps no one. Thank you, [NAME] STEP 2: JOIN US IN ROOM 250 CITY HALL AT 2PM TO STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH RV COMMUNITY On Tuesday July 15th and Tuesday the 22nd the ordinance is going to the full board, conveniently so the full Board of Supervisor meetings do not permit public comment, but we encourage our allies, supporters and community to join us in City Hall Room 250 at 2pm to stand in solidarity with the families and individuals that will be devastated by this RV Ban. We cannot take the stand to advocate for RV residents, but we can be present to showcase our stance, bear witness to the injustice taking place as part of the fight in holding our mayor, our city supervisors and city government accountable for their unjust actions. We hope to see you there! We appreciate your support, let’s keep fighting this together! |
Coalition on Homelessness
280 Turk Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-346-3740
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