Committee advances two‑year lease extension for Candlestick Bayview vehicle triage center

The Homelessness and Behavioral Health Select Committee voted unanimously Sept. 29 to forward a resolution to the full Board of Supervisors authorizing a two‑year sublease at Candlestick Point so the city can continue operating the Bayview Vehicle Triage Center (VTC).

The committee’s action sends a sublease that would run roughly Jan. 2024 through Jan. 12, 2026 — covering 312,000 square feet at Candlestick State Recreation Area — to the Board with a positive recommendation and a request that the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) return during the June 2024 budget process with options to lower operating costs.

HSH Deputy Director Emily Cohen told the committee the program has operated nearly two years under Urban Alchemy and that operations are constrained by lack of permanent electrical power and a pending fire‑suppression installation. Cohen said the site currently serves about 46 guests (in a 35‑vehicle configuration) and that the department calculates cost per guest using guest capacity rather than vehicle spots. Under current conditions she estimated an operating cost of about $232 per guest per night; Cohen said adding fire suppression would allow expansion to about 120 guests in 81 vehicles and would lower the programmatic cost to roughly $95 per person per night (separate from an annual lease cost the presentation listed at $300,000).

The committee also heard the Budget and Legislative Analyst, Nick Menard, who summarized the office’s fiscal review. The BLA estimated the program’s operating costs at about $5 million per year and projected total operating costs of roughly $12.2 million across the current and next two fiscal years (not including about $4.5 million already spent on site improvements). Menard noted prior performance findings showing exits to housing below targets and recommended the Board approve the lease while directing HSH to present lower‑cost models during the next budget cycle.

Public comment was mixed. Dozens of in‑chamber speakers — including VTC residents, site staff and neighborhood advocates — urged the committee to approve the lease, describing improved safety, access to showers, meals, trash pickup, case management and RV repair that they said helped people stabilize and, in some cases, move into housing. Urban Alchemy staff and subcontractor Bayview Hunters Point Foundation staff described program services and said they had helped clients access medical care, benefits and housing placements.

Remote callers and neighborhood groups raised concerns about cost, environmental harms and permitting. Several callers alleged the project had not undergone proper California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review and raised diesel‑generator emissions from interim power as an environmental and health concern for nearby residents. The BLA and HSH both acknowledged cost concerns and the uncertainty around permanent power, pointing to PG&E timelines and pending permit processes for interim power.

Supervisor Walton, who represents the district where the VTC sits, defended the program as a necessary, short‑term intervention that improved conditions along Candlestick Expressway and allowed concentrated delivery of services. Walton moved the committee recommendation; the roll call vote recorded Mandelmann — Aye; Walton — Aye; Ronan — Aye.

The committee’s positive recommendation will carry this resolution to the full Board of Supervisors on Oct. 3. The committee recorded a request that HSH return with options for lowering costs as part of the June 2024 budget process.

Votes at a glance: Motion to forward with a positive recommendation passed 3–0 (Mandelmann, Walton, Ronan — yes).