Embarcadero Community Gears Up for Legal Fight to Block Proposed Navigation Center

Updated Tuesday, April 2, 3 p.m.

A group of San Francisco waterfront residents opposed to Mayor London Breed's plan to build a homeless facility on an Embarcadero parking lot are building a war chest for a possible legal challenge.

Calling themselves “Safe Embarcadero for All,” the loose coalition of residents from Rincon Hill, South Beach and other nearby neighborhoods have already raised close to $70,000 online in just over a week. The funds, the group said on its GoFundMe page, will be used exclusively for legal costs necessary to block construction of the proposed navigation center, a facility that Breed wants open by the summer to provide shelter and a range of supportive services to the area's homeless residents.

"My main concern is safety, not just myself, but my family and other people in the community," said Wallace Lee, one of the group's organizers. "It's really an experiment that the city is putting into a densely populated residential area."

On its campaign page, the group takes issue with what it calls the city's rushed process to build the shelter without community support and cites serious concerns about how the project could impact safety and health in the neighborhood.

"Homelessness is a very real problem that we all need to help solve," the group wrote on its campaign page. "However, completely removing meaningful community engagement and Board oversight is no way to achieve a lasting solution."

The group is raising funds to retain the San Francisco legal firm Zacks, Freedman & Patterson, and is already looking into whether the center's fast-paced construction plans may be in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act or other development regulations.

Lee said he hopes to avoid legal action, but because of how fast the city is moving, he said his group needs consider its options and prepare for a fight.

On Thursday, a dueling GoFundMe campaign in support of the project had already been launched and quickly eclipsed its rival, raising nearly $90,000 by Friday night. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who gave $10,000, is among the more than 1,100 people who have contributed so far. The funds will be donated to the Coalition on Homelessness, according to William Fitzgerald, who started the fundraiser.

Breed's proposed facility of roughly 225 beds would be built on the site of Seawall Lot 330, a 2.3-acre parking lot near the intersection of Bryant and Beale streets, across the Embarcadero from Piers 30-32. The parcel is owned by the San Francisco Port Commission, which is tentatively scheduled to vote next month on leasing the land to the city.

Breed initially said it was "incredibly frustrating and disappointing" that some people in the community were so opposed to the project. But she later softened her tone, saying she was willing to have conservations with both sides to find a good compromise.

"We are given the opportunity to open this site and if there's problems or issues, then we revisit or look at doing something else," Breed said, noting that she'd consider reducing the number of beds at the shelter to accommodate concerned neighbors. "But I'm just asking for a chance."

The next public meeting on the proposed center is scheduled for Wednesday (April 3) at 6 p.m. at the nearby Delancey Street Foundation.

San Francisco currently has six navigation centers, which are multi-service shelter facilities intended to help homeless people find permanent housing and drug rehabilitation services. The first one opened in the Mission District in 2015 and closed last year. The newest center, on Bryant Street, opened in January.

The Embarcadero center would be aimed at the large homeless population in the area, and is part of Breed's goal of creating 1,000 new shelter beds by the end of 2020. Breed said she wants to keep the center on the site for four years, but is flexible on the terms of the lease.