Article Media
SAN FRANCISCO —Today, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a settlement with the Coalition on Homelessness, to be followed by a second and final vote on Sept. 16. The settlement requires the city to follow its bag-and-tag policy and establishes strong accountability and oversight measures. The Coalition had sued the city in 2022 over its practice of throwing away unhoused people’s property during encampment sweeps. If the settlement is approved, and signed by Mayor Daniel Lurie, it will be entered as a court order.
Under the terms of the five-year court order, San Francisco must give unhoused people an opportunity to reclaim their belongings before the city can destroy them. The city also must give notice of planned sweeps to unhoused people and the Coalition, provide the Coalition with quarterly reports on property seizures and monthly access to the storage yard, train Department of Public Works staff on proper procedures for handling personal property, and provide photo documentation of property at encampments slated for clearing. If San Francisco changes its bag-and-tag policy in the future, it must adhere to agreed upon standards to ensure that any future policy protects unhoused people’s constitutional rights.
Part of the attorneys’ fees awarded under the settlement will be used to monitor the city’s compliance with the court order. Evidence of violation or routine unlawful property destruction can be brought before a judge. The Coalition did not seek monetary damages in the lawsuit and will not receive any money from the settlement.
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, and Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel represented the Coalition and the individual unhoused plaintiffs.
“For the first time, San Francisco is being held accountable for how it handles unhoused people’s belongings,” said John Do, senior attorney at the ACLU of Northern California. “We will be watching closely, and if we determine that the city is still unlawfully destroying people’s property, we will ask the court to intervene.”
Although the bag-and-tag policy requires the city to store people’s belongings, the lawsuit alleged that city workers routinely threw out tents, sleeping bags, medication, and identification documents unhoused people need to prove their eligibility for the very programs that could help them secure employment, housing, and benefits, even when those items were not abandoned.
Plaintiff Sarah Cronk, who spent many years unhoused in San Francisco, said losing her belongings–including a tent, clothing, and phones–derailed her attempts to find housing.
“When you’re trying to survive on the streets, losing almost everything you own is traumatic and destabilizing,” said Cronk, who now lives with her partner and young daughter in subsidized housing. “There were times when we thought we were making real progress toward getting back on our feet, but then the city would sweep through and pull the rug out from under us, leaving us reeling and scrambling to replace necessities.”
“This settlement–and the accountability and oversight measures in it–are the result of our clients’ tireless efforts to ensure that unhoused people are afforded the same constitutional protections as anyone else,” said Nisha Kashyap, program director, Racial Justice, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area.
While sweeps may force unhoused people to relocate, they don’t reduce the overall number of people who are unhoused. The waitlists for shelter and housing remain long, proof there is unmet need for safe and affordable places to live in San Francisco.
“Ultimately, we hope this settlement encourages the city to redirect its limited resources away from sweeps and instead invest more in extremely low-income housing and acquiring existing units,” said Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness. “When someone loses their home, it is devastating. Losing what is left of their belongings in a sweep makes it even harder for them to recover.”
“We are pleased that San Francisco has recognized that compliance with its bag-and-tag policy is critical to the protection of unhoused individuals’ constitutional rights,” said Vasudha Talla, of counsel at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel and lead trial counsel.
Key Milestones: Coalition on Homelessness v. City and County of San Francisco
