San Fran Mayor's Office Scales Back SAFE Homeless Shelter Plan

SAN FRANCISCO -- Mayor London Breed has announced a proposal to scale back the number of beds and provide extra security at a planned homeless shelter in the city's South Beach neighborhood.

The proposal comes after weeks of community meetings and public outcry from South Beach residents over the city's proposed "SAFE Navigation Center."

The revised plan would see the shelter provide 130 beds upon opening, and then slowly increase the number to 200 over a six-month period. When Breed initially announced plans in March to build the city's first SAFE Navigation Center at Seawall Lot 330, the plan included providing up to 225 beds for the homeless, plus 24-hour security at the site.

In addition, the new proposal includes a plan to provide more police officers in the surrounding areas, seven days a week, according to Breed's office.

The lease for the property, located on land owned by the Port of San Francisco, would be up after two years. At that time, the Port Commission would decide whether to renew the lease for two more years.

"We are focused on addressing our homelessness crisis and helping our unhoused residents get the care and shelter they need while also doing our best to address some of the concerns that we have heard from neighbors," Breed said in a statement.

"Over the last month, we had heard ideas and feedback from residents and people who live in this area, whether they support the idea or oppose it, and we have incorporated some of those ideas so we can move forward with this SAFE Navigation Center on the Seawall Lot," she said.

Breed and Haney's new proposal, released Monday, comes after the city has held more than a dozen meetings with community groups and residents. Many South Beach residents have announced their opposition to the center, citing concerns of increased crime and drug use in the area.

The Port Commission is scheduled to vote on the new proposal at their next meeting, scheduled for next week on April 23.

A GoFundMe account set up by a group calling itself Safe Embarcadero For All for the purpose of retaining legal counsel to stop the center from being built, has surpassed its $100,000 goal, raising $101,205 as of Tuesday.

Disclosure: GoFundMe is a Patch partner.

A separate GoFundMe site, set up by proponents of the center calling themselves Safer Embarcadero For All, has also surpassed its goal. As of Tuesday, that account raised $176,015 of its $175,000 goal.

According to the account's organizers, the money would be used to support the Coalition on Homelessness and cover any potential legal costs.

Bay City News contributed to this report.