City officials of San Francisco have proposed a nearby parking lot to be used as a center for homeless people living in their vehicles. Supervisors Ahsha Safai and Vallie Brown Monday stated this center to be at 500 Geneva Ave., at Balboa Upper Yards, and would give people a safe place to stay and hold social events.

On Saturday, July 20, a meeting was set to discuss Balboa citizens’ thoughts on the proposal. As of now, the SF Examiner writes, “People would be allowed to reside in the parking lot for 90 days, with options for renewal until housing is made available.”

This site, only a few blocks away from Archbishop Riordan High School, would be a temporary one, as officials hope the Balboa UpperYard will be able to hold a facility with affordable housing for those in need in the future.

This facility would have 138 housing units; along with lighting, restrooms, a parking lot able to hold 33 vehicles, and security run by community ambassadors. The location of the future facility is quite close to De Wolf Street, home to many homeless people living in their vehicles. Residents on this street wanted to ban parking RV parking on the block, similar to other streets throughout the city.

Supervisors Safai and Brown Monday wanted to address this, and the idea for a homeless center at Balboa BART was born.

“We’ve seen a rise in homeless people living in their cars in our neighborhood,” Safai told the San Francisco Examiner. “This is an honest conversation, nothing’s been decided yet.”

If the community of Balboa Park area agrees with this proposal, Safai and other supervisors expect the building and control of the site for the center to take shape by November of this year.