Bay Area/ San Francisco/ Real Estate & Development
Published on April 11, 2016
Mayor Lee Vows To Crack Down On Homeless Encampments CitywidePhoto: Jason Rand/Twitter

Homeless encampments citywide are now being considered safety hazards, and a "systematic citywide takedown policy" is being drafted, Mayor Ed Lee told the Chronicle this weekend.

Lee's statement came two days after two San Francisco police officers shot and killed 45-year-old Luis Gongora, a resident of the homeless encampment on Shotwell between 18th and 19th streets in the Mission. It's been just over a month since the city cleared the controversial Division Street encampment.

According to the Chronicle, Lee's takedown plan involves officials from the SFPD, health department and SF Public Works selecting “hot spots” and moving residents of those encampments into shelters, as beds become available.

Lee said that the encampment on Shotwell will be one of the first to go. “Once the various investigations have finished, collecting evidence and completed their interviews of witnesses, I will be ordering the Shotwell camp to be taken down, and for it not to come back,” Lee told the Chronicle.

According to the ExaminerSFPD officers didn't wait to act: they began dismantling the tents on Shotwell late Saturday night, tearing many of them apart with knives. A Public Works spokeswoman said nine residents of the tents were moved into the nearby Homeless Navigation Center.