‘Safe’ parking lot idea draws anger, support

A proposal to turn a parking lot near the Balboa Park BART Station into a facility for people living out of their cars drew about 200 people to a Saturday afternoon community meeting, where some expressed support for the idea, but others fumed at the possibility of the homeless service coming to their San Francisco neighborhood.

“Put it in front of your house!” one woman yelled in a swarm of residents that surrounded Supervisor Ahsha Safaí after the meeting. “See how that feels!”

“Thank you for taking initiative,” said another woman, who pushed her way through the scrum to shake Safaí’s hand. “This is already a problem in our neighborhood. Why wouldn’t we want to move people into a controlled area?”

City officials want to turn the parking lot near Balboa Park Station into a “triage lot,” where people can park their vehicles overnight and access showers, bathrooms and services to help them find other housing options. It would be San Francisco’s first facility to serve those living out of their vehicles, a population that has risen 45% since 2017.

Safaí — whose district includes the neighborhoods near the parking lot — hosted the meeting Saturday to discuss the plan, which would be a oneyear pilot program. He was flanked by officials from the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the San Francisco Police Department and the Coalition on Homelessness.

Officials want to open the site on a cityowned lot called the Upper Yard, which has room for about 30 midsize to large vehicles. While some would be occupied overnight, others would just be stored there while their occupants sleep elsewhere — like at a Navigation Center — if a bed is available. People must be referred to the facility by a city Homeless Outreach Team member and will be allowed to stay for 90 days at a time.

Safaí hopes the site will open by winter. But first he has to change the planning code to allow the city to use the lot as a triage center. That requires him to introduce legislation to the Board of Supervisors, which he plans to do by the end of the month. Then there will be a public hearing at the City Planning Commission before the legislation goes to the full board for a vote.

If approved, the site will operate for about a year until a developer breaks ground on a planned affordable housing project there in the fall of 2020.

The Upper Yard is sandwiched between two major roads and a highway onramp. It’s near the BART station and a few bus stops, and it’s a few blocks from Balboa High School. Many residents at the meeting expressed concerns over the crime, blight and increased traffic the facility could bring to the surrounding neighborhoods.

But Police Capt. Jack Hart argued the site could help make the area safer, because there would be increased police patrols in the area.

People living out of their vehicles have become an increasingly vexing issue in San Francisco, accounting for much of the city’s 17% rise in its homeless population since 2017. Similar parking centers have popped up all around the West Coast as officials wrangle with how to help these people before they slip further into homelessness.

Timothy Rottenberg, 29, a teacher who lives near the Balboa Park BART Station, said that because people are already living out of their vehicles in the neighborhood, it would help the area to have a dedicated space for them, where they can be connected to services.

“The harm is already happening here,” he said as he walked out of the meeting. “I think this would help us move forward and reduce the harm.”

But opponents showed the conundrum city officials often face in dealing with San Francisco’s homeless crisis: While nearly everyone agrees the city needs more homeless services, many would prefer those services not be near their own homes.

Shane McGrath, who lives a few blocks away from the site, was irate over the proposal. He complained that it sounded like a “done deal” and felt like he and his fellow residents had little say.

“It doesn’t feel like we have a voice in this,” he said. “They are trying to jam this down our throats.”

McGrath said some residents may take legal action against the plan, much like a group of residents near a proposed serviceintensive homeless shelter on the Embarcadero have. Those residents recently sued the city in an attempt to halt construction of the center.

“That’s what people are going to have to do,” he said.

After the meeting ended, Safaí stayed around for about an hour listening to his constituents, who both commended and lambasted him for the idea. As one woman criticized him for several minutes, the supervisor repeated a line he used throughout the day. “Let me ask you something,” Safai said, his voice calmly rising above hers. “What would you do with the people who are living in their cars right now?”

“That’s a question for me to ask you,” the woman answered. “You have to propose something.”

“I am proposing something,” Safaí responded.

“Well, propose something that doesn’t harm our community,” she shot back.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle S.F. Supervisor Ahsha Safaí speaks at a community meeting at Balboa High School about the proposed “safe” parking lot for the homeless. Some residents were furious, and others pleased.