A New San Francisco Plan Would Spread Out Homeless Shelters More Evenly

San Francisco is one step closer to establishing a city-wide standard for opening homeless shelters after city leaders this week voted on legislation that would spread out shelters more equitably.

The One City Shelter Act, authored by Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, is part of a broader effort to address the shortage of shelter for its homeless population, and address concerns of Tenderloin and South of Market residents who say their neighborhoods already house more than their fair share.

Seventy-five percent of the city’s shelters and housing beds are situated in eight neighborhoods, according to city data.

The new legislation is a departure from Mahmood’s original proposal back in April, which would have required that new shelters be built in each district. But after weeks of talks with Mayor Daniel Lurie and other lawmakers, Mahmood, who represents the Tenderloin, adopted his proposal as a model that proposes new shelters based on neighborhood needs.

Mahmood also amended his original proposal to construct new shelters — which include transitional housing facilities and treatment centers — at least 300 feet away from existing shelters nearby. Originally, the proposed distance was at least 1,000 feet from existing shelters.

“This is a commitment to new neighborhoods that are going to help their unhoused neighbors come indoors,” Mahmood told KQED. “We’re not going to put multiple shelters on the same block.”

The legislation also requires the city to conduct a report every two years to monitor which neighborhoods are meeting their shelter capacity. Based on the results, the city would then reallocate funding for neighborhoods with greater need.

The board voted overwhelmingly in favor of the bill on Tuesday. Supervisors Connie Chan and Chyanne Chen voted against it, with Chan calling the bill “overly prescriptive.”

“Placing a shelter in every neighborhood without intentional community input won’t address root causes of housing and affordability, behavioral health issues and more,” Chen said in the meeting.

The Coalition on Homelessness’s executive director, Jennifer Friedenbach, echoed Chen’s concern over a lack of housing and the city’s overreliance on emergency shelter.

“Shelter should not be expanded unless housing is expanded along with it,” Friedenbach said. “You want them to move out and into housing, and then that leaves the bed open for someone else.”

While Friedenbach supports more geographic diversity within the city’s shelter system, she also pushed back against the idea that unhoused residents are “a burden.”

The legislation is slated for a final consent vote in September before it lands on Lurie’s desk.