San Francisco officials have reached a settlement with a homeless advocacy group that sued the city in 2022 over its removal of encampments.
The city attorney’s office has agreed to pay the attorneys for the Coalition on Homelessness $2.82 million and give the nonprofit regular access to documents about the encampment clearing process. But the agreement also allows the city to continue with its policy of seizing the personal property of people living on the streets.
The settlement, which the Board of Supervisors must approve, could mark the end of a bitter legal battle. The coalition had won an injunction that halted the city from clearing camps unless occupants were offered shelter, but a Supreme Court case last year allowed U.S. cities to enforce laws banning people from sleeping in public. After that Supreme Court ruling, then-Mayor London Breed moved aggressively to remove tents from San Francisco sidewalks and parks.
Under the pending settlement, the city must continue to provide a 72-hour warning to people living in a camp before a planned operation to clear it. Meanwhile, the city’s attorneys must notify the coalition’s attorneys 48 hours before planned clearings and 24 hours before other routine cleanings, which are usually planned by city officials during a morning meeting that day.
For unplanned operations, often prompted by complaints to the city’s 311 hotline, city workers are not required to give homeless people advanced notice.
The city attorney’s office celebrated the settlement as a win for both parties.
“We are happy to be putting this lawsuit behind us so that all sides can focus on providing services and addressing homelessness,” a spokesperson for the city attorney said in a statement. “We believe this settlement is the best outcome for all parties.”
The Coalition on Homelessness said the agreement puts checks on the city’s power.
“We are pleased that the parties have reached a settlement in this case that is so important to our unhoused neighbors and look forward to approval by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the mayor. The settlement has important mechanisms to ensure that the city complies with its policy for handling unhoused people’s property,” said Jennifer Friedenbach, the group’s executive director.
The settlement also requires that Public Works employees take photos of any mattresses, tents, or “complete bicycles” they confiscate. The Coalition on Homelessness will be allowed monthly access to the Public Works storage yard where the items are kept. Additionally, two formerly homeless people who were plaintiffs in the case will receive $11,000 each.
If the city eventually elects to change its clearing processes, it will have to begin giving advance notice to homeless people before unplanned operations.
Homeless people have long complained that city workers regularly dispose of their belongings rather than storing them for 90 days, as required under city policy. Advocates argue that such sweeps make it more difficult for people to escape homelessness.