S.F. Residents Sue to Block Homeless 'Navigation Center' on Environmental Grounds

A group called Safe Embarcadero for All is suing to block the construction of a homeless shelter on city-leased land across from piers 30-32 on the San Francisco waterfront.

1 minute read

July 11, 2019, 9:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Homelessness

meunierd / Shutterstock

"Opponents of a 200-bed Navigation Center planned for the Embarcadero filed a lawsuit against the project Wednesday in an attempt to stop the city from building the homeless shelter in their neighborhood," reports Trisha Thadani.

"Last month, the group was unsuccessful in trying to persuade the supervisors to overturn a unanimous April decision by the San Francisco Port Commission to grant the city a two-year lease on its 2.3-acre parcel across from Piers 30-32," according to Thadani.

This month, a lawsuit, which makes arguments similar to the appeal: "that the city failed to get the necessary approvals from the State Lands Commission, the agency that oversees waterfront development. It also argues that the city did not go through a proper environmental and design review and seeks a restraining order to halt the development from progressing until the lawsuit is decided."

A spokesperson for the city is quoted in the article saying the city followed all applicable land use laws when approving the navigation center, also implying that the opposition group is a "not in my back yard" (NIMBY) organization.

Thursday, July 11, 2019 in San Francisco Chronicle

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

Skyscrapers in Jersey City.

New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers

Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.

September 4, 2026 - The Cool Down

A New Jersey train approaches people waiting at the station.

Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds

A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.

September 15 - Mass Transit

A tall, gray power plant billows smoke into a blue sky.

EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants

Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.

September 15 - New York Times

A white RAPID bus. The lower half is light blue, and says RAPID in purple text. The bus is half visible, appearing from the left side of the image.

Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses

Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.

September 15 - KJZZ

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.