San Francisco prohibits homeless people from living in RVs with new parking restrictions

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – San Francisco will ban homeless people from living in RVs by adopting strict new parking restrictions, which is necessary for the mayor to prevent clear sidewalks and prevent garbage from piles up.

The policy was finalized by San Francisco supervisors on Tuesday, with the goal of having at least 400 recreational vehicles in the 800,000-person city. RVS provides shelter for people who cannot afford housing, including immigrant families with children.

Those who live in it say it is an essential choice in an expensive city. But Mayor Daniel Lurie and other supporters of the policy say Autohomes are not suitable for long-term living and the city has a responsibility to provide shelter and clear streets for those in need.

“We definitely want to serve families who are in crisis during the San Francisco crisis,” Kunal Modi advises the mayor on hygiene, homelessness and family services. “We feel it is a responsibility to help them get stable solutions. At the same time, we want to make sure that it is stable indoors and not exposed on public roads.”

However, critics of the plan say the shot of forcing people to abandon their only homes in exchange for traditional housing was cruel, when all those in need had enough units; the mayor only provided additional money to help 65 families.

Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Homeless Alliance, said city officials were very behind in establishing the details of the accompanying permit program, which would exempt RV residents from parking as long as they work with homeless outreach staff to find housing.

She said: “I think there will be some people losing their RVs. I think there will be people who can get into the shelter, but at the expense of people with higher needs, such as those sleeping on the sidewalk.

Like other American cities, San Francisco has exploded in recent years because people live in vehicles and RVs as the cost of living increases. The ban on oversized vehicles is part of Lurie’s guarantee to clean up San Francisco streets and part of a trend that requires homeless people to receive asylum or risk arrest or tow.

Strict new rules

The proposal sets all vehicles over 22 feet (7 meters) or above 7 feet (2 meters) for city-wide parking restrictions for all RVs and oversized vehicles, regardless of whether they are used as housing or not.

RV residents registered in New York City as of May are exempt from parking space under the accompanying licensing plan. In exchange, they must accept the offer of temporary or long-term housing provided by the city and get rid of the RV at that time of the move. The city has budgeted over $5 million to buy RVs from residents at $175 per foot.

The permit will last for six months. People in RVs arriving after May will not comply with the permit plan and must comply with the two-hour rule, which makes it impossible for a family in RVs to live within city limits.

Last week, it first cleared the committee with 11 supervisors voted as “no”.

RV residents can’t afford the rent

Carlos Perez, one of the 55-year-old RV residents, told supervisors at a hearing this month that they could not afford the city’s high rent. Perez worked full-time as a produce deliveryman and supported his brother, who lived with him and was unable to work due to his disability.

“We did nothing wrong. We tried to keep the street clean,” he said, who recently showed the RV to an Associated Press reporter. “It’s not easy to be in a place like this.”

However, Perez also likes his residence. The green RV is decorated with a cozy houseplant and has a sink and a small stove, which Carlos cooked on top of on a recent afternoon.

He lived in San Francisco for more than 30 years, and spent about a decade in the working-class Bayview community. He could walk to work, it was close to the hospital, and his brother was dialyzed multiple times a week.

Zach, another RV resident, asked to use his name to determine not to endanger his ability to go to work, and after realizing how hard he worked, he began living in a vehicle twelve years ago, he was still struggling to pay rent.

Now he works as a bicycle driver, pursuing his love for photography. He will park near Lake Mercede, a city near the Pacific Ocean, pay $35 every two to four weeks to properly handle the waste and fill the vehicle with fresh water.

He said Luri’s plan was shortsighted. There are not enough housing and many people prefer living in a motorhome rather than in a shelter, which may have restrictive rules. He said that for Zach who is physically capable to maintain a clean space and has no foster, moving to the shelter will be a step. Still, he hopes to get a license.

“If housing is affordable, there is a good chance I won’t be here,” he said.

Manchester City has recently closed only RV

RV residents say San Francisco should open a secure parking lot where residents can empty garbage and connect to electricity. However, the city closed the RV batch in April, saying it served thirty large vehicles per year and failed to turn people into more stable housing.

The mayor’s new proposal brings more money to strengthen RV parking executions, but there is another $11 million, mainly for a few families to move to subsidized housing for several years.

Officials acknowledged that it may not be enough to accommodate all RV residents, but noted that the city also has hotel coupons and other housing subsidies.

Erica Kisch, CEO of Homeless Family Services, said they do not support the punitive nature of the proposal, but thanked for the additional resources.

“People realize that families should not live in vehicles, and we need to do better for families, seniors and anyone else living in vehicles,” she said. “San Francisco can certainly do better.”