Pier 68 to be Used to Dock Recreational Vehicles

District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton’s condemnation of a municipal plan to store towed recreational vehicles (RVs) at Pier 68 was the first time many Dogpatch residents heard about the idea. 

“The Mayor’s Office, the Department of Emergency Management, the Port and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing are once again strong-arming and treating District 10 as a dumping ground for the City’s hardest challenges,” Walton wrote in a press release. “Along with SFMTA, they are secretly trying to quietly trash District 10 again by storing towed RVs at Pier 68 after the mayor failed to deliver his promise of creating 1,500 shelter beds by this past June.”

On November 1, the City began ticketing or towing large vehicles parked for more than two hours throughout San Francisco. The targeted vehicles exceed 22 feet in length or seven feet in height: camp trailers, fifth-wheel travel trailers, house cars, trailer coaches, mobile homes, RVs, and semi-trailers. As of last May, the Healthy Streets Operations Center had identified 501 such vehicles, 437 of which were being used for habitation. 

The owners of RVs occupied for housing may be eligible for $175 per linear foot buyouts in exchange for the vehicle. Those participating in the Large Vehicle Refuge Permit program were given a temporary reprieve from sanctions while they connected with housing and other services. According to the Large Vehicle Program’s website, the permit lasts six months or until the dwellers receive “an appropriate offer of non-congregate interim or permanent housing,” whichever comes first, after which they’re vehicle is subject to ticketing and towing. 

To be eligible for the permit, people must have been living in a large vehicle on May 31, 2025 – at which point access to the program was closed – the RV has to be listed in the Large Vehicle database, and household members’ only form of shelter must be the identified vehicle.  RV residents were placed in the database by San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team workers. 

“Our kids deserve to grow up with both safe, stable homes and clean, accessible sidewalks; and we can only provide that by getting RVs off the street and helping families move into permanent housing,” said Charles Lutvak, spokesperson for Mayor Daniel Lurie, in response to a query from the View. “As families move, empty RVs will be held temporarily at a City-owned lot with available space and then dismantled. Government has spent years failing to address this issue; we are doing what it takes to do right by San Francisco families.” 

Jackie Thornhill, San Francisco Department of Emergency Management communications manager, told the View that the storage site has 24/7 security. It’s not visible from the street and can accommodate between 20 and 30 large vehicles. Voluntarily relinquished vehicles are stored for a minimum of 15 days before they’re dismantled.

“These situations rely on verification and documentation processes, which will vary case by case… why the LV program includes case management services for occupants. There is no limit to how many times a vehicle towed outside of the relinquishment process can be reclaimed. Fee waivers are available for people experiencing homelessness or who are low-income. Impound lots are open 24 hours a day, including holidays,” said Thornhill, indicating that towed vehicles can be reclaimed by paying the ticketing fee.

Last month, District 10 Supervisor candidate J.R. Eppler, and Michael Berkowitz, Dogpatch Neighborhood Association (DNA) president, expressed their frustration over the storage proposal in correspondence to the Port of San Francisco. The communication stated that the scheme wasn’t disclosed during a Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing September presentation to DNA nor at the Port of San Francisco’s Southern Advisory Committee meeting in October. 

“The lack of transparency on an issue with such potential local impact is troubling. District 10 has consistently stepped up to help the City address its most complex challenges, but too often we are asked to do so without notice or collaboration. The community can only work with the City if the City is willing to work with us,” stated the letter.  “Our community has shown that partnership can work. The Dogpatch Neighborhood Association collaborated closely with the City on the Dogpatch Navigation Center, and the Potrero Boosters did the same with the Homeless Stayover Shelter at Downtown High School.” 

The Coalition on Homelessness (CoH) held a press conference last month, alongside RV occupants, calling for RV residents to be protected from displacement and tows. 

The RV ban and Large Vehicle Refuge Permit program are “cruel measures by design,” said Jennifer Friedenbach, CoH executive director. “Now those who should qualify but were never notified have no path towards permitting as the process has closed. The City permit program has set up endless barriers for individuals and families in RVs. It’s almost as if the process was intended to banish RV residents and eradicate visible poverty instead of getting people into housing.” 

Gabriel Medina, executive director of La Raza Community Resource Center, a San Francisco nonprofit that provides services to low-income families and individuals, said that while the City targets households sheltered in RVs, thousands of others sleep on the streets and in cars, parks, and school gyms.  

“The City should be setting up safe parking and RV parks, while working to get everyone indoors,” said Medina. 

Roughly 8,323 people were observed experiencing homelessness on January 30, 2024, the date of the City’s last Point-in-Time count, which is conducted every two years. The count estimated 1,444 households were living in vehicles, a 37 percent increase from the 2022 count. Even more people need assistance to avoid losing housing. The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing stated in 2024 that in excess of 20,000 people seek homeless services in San Francisco annually.