San Francisco is set to crack down on homeless people living in RVs with its Board of Supervisors preparing to vote on strict new parking limits.
A new proposal aiming to enforce a two-hour parking restriction throughout the city for all RVs and oversized vehicles that exceed 22 feet in length or 7 feet in height is approaching its final approval on Tuesday. Mayor Daniel Lurie, alongside advocates of this legislation, argues that motor homes are not designed for permanent residence and emphasizes the city’s responsibility to both provide necessary housing solutions for those in need and maintain cleaner streets.
The proposal includes a permit system that exempts RV residents registered with the city before May from the parking restrictions. In return, these residents must accept San Francisco’s temporary or long-term housing options and dispose of their RVs when transitioning. The city has allocated over half a million dollars to purchase RVs from owners, offering $175 per foot as compensation.
“We genuinely aim to support families and individuals in crisis across San Francisco,” stated Chief of Health & Human Services Kunal Modi to The Associated Press. “We acknowledge our responsibility to help them achieve stable living conditions, ensuring they find such stability indoors rather than on public roads.”
Carlos Perez stands inside an RV, where he lives with his brother, Selvin, left, in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco, on Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP/Terry Chea)
RV dwellers say San Francisco should open a safe parking lot where residents could empty trash and access electricity. However, city officials shuttered an RV lot in April, saying it cost about $4 million a year to service three dozen large vehicles and it failed to transition people to more stable housing, the AP reported.
The mayor’s new proposal comes with more money for beefed-up RV parking enforcement — but also an additional $11 million, largely for a small number of households to move to subsidized housing for a few years.
The new proposal would set 2-hour parking limits for RVs and other oversized vehicles in San Francisco, Calif. (AP/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Officials acknowledge that may not be sufficient to house all RV dwellers, but note that the city also has hotel vouchers and other housing subsidies.
