SF Mayor Lurie Signs Ordinance Limiting Homeless RV Parking to Two Hours

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie signed into law a new recreational vehicle ban ordinance on Tuesday, cutting the maximum time to park RV’s from overnight to only two hours.

According to the new ordinance, two-hour parking restrictions for large vehicles will be enforced citywide, with the exception of commercial vehicles actively loading or when parking in industrial zones. Vehicles without a valid large vehicle refuge permit will be subject to citation and potential towing as well. $13 million will also be going towards outreach and buyback programs to help get those in RVs to more permanent shelter.

Those with RV’s will have a few months to prepare for the law shift. The new ordinance will take effect at the end of August. This will be followed by another month of engagement and reaching out to those in RV’s about the new law. Buyback programs will begin in October, with full enforcement finally coming into effect by November.

“Today I signed legislation that will address RV homelessness, help our families, and restore public spaces in San Francisco,” said Lurie in a statement. “When I first began working with groups addressing family homelessness in 2005, I met parents doing everything they could to give their kids a better life. Over the past 20 years and now as mayor, I’ve seen that same drive—parents fighting for stability, for permanent housing, for a real foundation.

“Life in an RV can’t offer that. It isolates families. It leaves them behind. RV encampments also create challenges for our neighborhoods. Noisy generators with unsafe electrical hook ups. Bike lanes blocked by broken down vehicles. Wastewater dumped into sewers that create real public health hazards. In a city with as many resources as ours, we can’t accept that. As we’ve worked on this legislation, I kept coming back to parents. The parents living in vehicles deserve real options for raising their kids in safety and dignity. And the parents trying to walk down the street with their family deserve sidewalks that are clean, safe, and accessible.

“This new RV legislation will deliver that. It combines compassion with accountability. It creates a clear path to housing. And it gives our city the tools to clean up our neighborhoods and improve quality of life across San Francisco. Under this new law, we will deploy specialized outreach teams. We will offer housing placements, family rapid rehousing subsidies, and vehicle buybacks—for families, seniors, and single adults who need a path off the streets. And we will put in place 2-hour citywide parking limits, enforced with compassion and consistency. When necessary, residents living in large vehicles who are actively engaged in services will be eligible for a temporary parking permit while they transition into housing. But long-term RV encampments on our streets will no longer be tolerated. 

“This legislation gives us a path forward on what has long felt like an intractable challenge. Let’s meet this moment. Let’s move quickly. And let’s deliver the safer, cleaner, more dignified city that every San Franciscan deserves.”

A two hour limit

For years before the ordinance, RVs parked on city streets in San Francisco has been a serious problem, with around 500 lived-in oversized vehicles counted in May by the Healthy Streets Operations Center. As stated by Lurie and the Board of Supervisors, living conditions in and around RVs can often be unsafe, with few basic services, trash and waste buildup, criminal activity, and property all growing concerns. The SF Board finally began to act with Mayor Lurie introducing new legislation last month, and the Board itself approving the ordinance earlier this month. Despite some homeless advocates decrying the move, the Board of Supervisors were overwhelmingly in favor of the action, voting 9-2.

“We found that a lot of families were living in vehicles they did not own. Someone else owned them and are charging a lot of money for rent and taking advantage of the desperation of people,” explained Supervisor Myrna Melgar.

The ordinance now allows San Francisco to catch up with the stricter street RV parking laws across the state. Some cities, including Pasadena, Santa Ana, and San Diego, have complete overnight bans between the hours of 2 A.M. to 6 A.M., with the exception of having a permit to do so. Others, like Los Angeles, have used a slower method by banning overnight RV parking on several dozen more city streets every few months, rather than institute an outright citywide ban. But the vast majority of cities, from Sacramento to San Jose to Glendale, have seen major crackdowns or stricter laws be enacted in the past few years. Only a few select cities, like Oakland, have seen somewhat favorable laws for RV dwellers pass recently.

San Francisco’s ordinance will, once in full enforcement, be one of the strictest in the Bay Area, eschewing traditional overnight ban hours for only two hours.  Many area cities are expected to pass similar new ordinances as a result, to keep up with San Francisco’s new two hour bar.