Greg Long is calling out a pricey city loophole that lets San Francisco homeowners privatize curb space for a few hundred dollars a month.
Long, 56, a product designer living in Presidio Heights, posted video to social media showing 14 “no stopping” tow-away signs clustered on his side of the street. The signs swallowed six of eight available parking spaces, he said, with at least one still standing despite expiring in May.
The permits behind those signs are surprisingly accessible. Applicants pay an $851 fee, then $209 monthly for every 20 feet of curb they want to control. Long told the San Francisco Chronicle that the total runs about $350 a month per sign — a price some residents appear willing to pay to guarantee themselves street parking in one of America’s most parking-starved cities.
“This is a system that’s easy to abuse,” Long said. “It’s simple to pull a street permit, you need no documentation, and enforcement comes only when your neighbor complains.”
San Francisco Public Works pushed back against the idea of widespread fraud. The agency issued roughly 8,600 tow-away sign permits last year and expects similar numbers this year, and told the Chronicle in a statement that “we have no reason to believe it’s a rampant issue.” The department acknowledged it lacks resources to actively track permit activity and instead responds to individual complaints. Fines for violations can reach $1,000 per day for those who refuse to correct problems after being flagged.
The permits are officially intended for construction and “minor building repairs” including landscaping, according to the city website. But Long’s investigation suggests some holders are stretching or ignoring those boundaries entirely.
City Supervisor Stephen Sherrill added his voice to the growing criticism after inspecting signs near his own home. “A lot of people are sneaky,” he said. “They leave their signs up after they expire, so take a look at those dates.”
Long’s video tapped into deep-seated neighborhood grievances that extend well beyond his block. One commenter on his post claimed that 2900 Jackson Street at Broderick “has been under construction since I moved into the neighborhood in 2005.” Another user vented that University High School traffic combined with construction signs covering “70% of the blocks” makes daytime parking virtually impossible.
Parking manipulation has surfaced as a flashpoint across San Francisco before. In 2024, a viral Reddit post documented a neighbor who allegedly posted their own unauthorized “no parking” sign, underscoring how individual workarounds have compounded a citywide frustration.
Long told the Chronicle his goal is transparency and community accountability rather than punitive action. “Part of what I’m doing is just showing people like, ‘Hey, let’s just try to be neighborly – if your sign’s done, take it down,'” he said. “Don’t try and abuse this loophole.”
Public Works encourages residents to file complaints about suspect permits, though the complaint-driven model leaves enforcement dependent on vigilant neighbors willing to challenge their own communities.