San Francisco committee advances repeal of city permit requirement for overdose prevention sites

The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee on Feb. 9 voted 3-0 to send to the full Board of Supervisors an ordinance that would repeal the citys permitting requirement for overdose prevention programs, a move proponents said would speed deployment of supervised consumption sites.

Chair Supervisor Catherine Stephanie led the committee as it heard testimony from dozens of advocates, service providers and neighborhood residents. Tom Polley, who identified himself as a mayors liaison to the Board of Supervisors, described the ordinance as a way to allow a "New York model" approach and urged the committee to act "to accelerate the deployment of these important public health and community safety facilities." He said the city continues to see "people die at an alarming rate as a result of drug overdoses."

The measure drew broad support from harm-reduction organizations and service providers. Andy Stone of the HIV Advocacy Network said the city must respond with "moral urgency". Mary Silla, director of policy for the National Harm Reduction Coalition, cited international experience and recent U.S. examples and said Justice Department litigation has not blocked such centers nationwide. Eliana Dinder, a policy associate, told the committee overdose-prevention centers "increase connections to treatment" and urged the city to collaborate with the mayor, the board and the city attorney to implement centers at scale. "We have the local expertise to confront this," she said.

Service providers and people with lived experience recounted local need. Shiva Bandeepa, a District 6 resident and supportive-housing policy manager, told the committee "on average, San Francisco loses 2 people per day to accidental overdoses," and urged the city to deploy funding from city sources or opioid-settlement dollars to open wellness hubs. Calder Lorenz of the Gubbio Project and Wesley Saver of Glide described evidence from other cities and decades of harm-reduction work linking supervised consumption services to treatment referrals.

Some neighborhood residents raised concerns about siting. Mark Solomon, a North Mission resident, warned that a proposed location at St. Johns Church near 15th and Julian is adjacent to a senior center and said it appeared to fall within the 1,000-foot proximity standard to Marshall Elementary School referenced in his comments; he requested "a carve out" and additional hearings for sites near schools or recovery centers. The committee did not adopt a carve-out during the hearing.

City Department of Public Health staff said DPH would play a central oversight role for any program. Eileen Loughran, DPHs overdose prevention and community initiatives manager, said the department expects to provide "strong DPH oversight and partnership," engage with community concerns in real time and ensure programs connect participants with treatment and adhere to policies and guidelines.

Supervisor Ahsha Safai Dorsey (recorded as Supervisor Dorsey in the transcript) framed the ordinance as a cleanup of prior language and said legal uncertainty at the federal level has complicated local efforts. He moved that the committee send the ordinance to the full board with a positive recommendation; the clerk recorded an affirmative voice vote (Vice Chair Angadio: aye; Dorsey: aye; Chair Stephanie: aye), carrying the motion 3-0.

The ordinance as recommended by the committee will be scheduled for the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 28, 2023. Committee members and DPH emphasized that removing the city permit requirement is a step toward enabling sites but is not the final step: funding, site selection, community engagement and continued legal review remain necessary before supervised consumption services would open.

Votes at a glance: Motion to send the ordinance to the Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation — mover: Supervisor Dorsey; recorded vote: Angadio, aye; Dorsey, aye; Stephanie, aye; outcome: approved (3-0).

Next steps: The ordinance will appear on the full Board of Supervisors agenda on Feb. 28, 2023, for further consideration.