Efforts to clean up San Francisco streets are back in motion Monday after a months-long contentious legal battle over homelessness.
Mayor London Breed announced the city can resume enforcing laws that it hasn't been able to for months.
It began last year, when the Coalition on Homelessness filed a lawsuit claiming San Francisco was breaking the law because the number of people experiencing homelessness was much higher than the available number of shelter beds.
A federal judge eventually prevented the city from clearing camps because of it, and much of this legal battle has been centered on the definition of “involuntarily homeless."
On Monday, Breed announced a court of appeals acknowledged that individuals are not involuntarily homeless if they have declined an offer of shelter or have access to shelter.
In a statement, Breed said in part, "People who have been offered available shelter should not be allowed to remain out camping on our streets ... This lawsuit is still pending. The injunction is still in place. Our city attorney is continuing to fight this in court."
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
