{"id":66734,"date":"2025-06-17T08:43:55","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T15:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/?p=66734"},"modified":"2025-06-26T14:33:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T21:33:10","slug":"sf-two-hour-parking-rvs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/en\/sf-two-hour-parking-rvs\/","title":{"rendered":"SF proposes a citywide two-hour parking limit for RVs. Can it be enforced?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie unveiled a citywide plan on June 10 to ban RVs from parking for more than two hours. Framed as an effort to \u201creclaim public space\u201d and reduce vehicular homelessness, the ordinance<\/a> introduces a new permit for residents enrolled in housing services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 17, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority (SFMTA) Board voted 6-1 to approve the \u201cLarge Vehicle Refuge Permit<\/a>,\u201d a key step toward enforcing the citywide RV parking restrictions. The second part of the ordinance \u2014 the infraction of the two-hour parking limit \u2014 now heads to the Board of Supervisors for final approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of press time, a hearing date has not been scheduled, but the legislation is expected to be referred to the Land Use and Transportation Committee<\/a> or the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee<\/a> before advancing to the supervisors for a vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the board hearing, one RV resident \u2014 who asked to remain anonymous \u2014 spoke through tears, calling the legislation dangerous amid a surge of ICE raids targeting workplaces, schools and homes across the country. \u201cWe are being jeopardized by the raids and the removal of our RVs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SFMTA Vice Chair Stephanie Cajina was the lone dissenting vote, echoing the fears of working-class immigrant communities facing both housing displacement and immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But despite these concerns, the time limits on RVs are backed by multiple supervisors and city departments, who say the proposal is a compassionate intervention that will offer housing subsidies, outreach services and a six-month permit for RV residents actively seeking housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis approach to tackling vehicular homelessness is grounded in compassion and coordination,\u201d said Shireen McSpadden, Executive Director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH). \u201cBy offering a bridge to prevention, housing and social services, we are addressing the root causes of vehicular homelessness and fostering a pathway out of homelessness for those in need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But internal emails and public records reviewed by El Tecolote<\/em> show that many of the tactics outlined \u2014 time limits, towing threats, overnight parking bans and limited housing subsidies \u2014 have already been used to displace vehicle residents. Housing advocates say the new law would codify a pattern of reactive parking enforcement that has left many families without shelter, and often without their only remaining asset: their vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cS.F. is facing an affordability crisis, and people who are mostly people of color, immigrant, working, retired, disabled are attempting to shelter themselves by living in RV\u2019s,\u201d said Jennifer Friedenbach of the Coalition on Homelessness in a press release<\/a>. \u201cThey have been consistently harassed, towed, and evicted simply because of their economic status and the look of their vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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