SAN FRANCISCO, CA – According to a report from Infowars, a handful of business owners in San Francisco’s Castro district have reached their proverbial limit when it comes to crime and homelessness afflicting the area – and are at the point where they’re entertaining the idea of withholding city taxes unless officials start addressing the issues.

The CBS News outlet KPIX noted that the Castro Merchants Association, which is a collective comprised of area business owners within the San Francisco district, are looking to go the route of civil disobedience to illustrate just how fed up they are with the city doing nothing about homelessness and the crimes that come with it.

Dave Karraker, co-owner of local business MX3 Fitness, who also serves as the co-president of Castro Merchants Association, explained that this has been a growing issue for years now with little being done by officials to alleviate the matter.

According to Karraker, the sentiments are that, as business owners, they’re forking over the respective fees for licensing and doling out taxes without getting anything in return for what those taxes should be funding.

“It’s gotten to a point now where it’s gotten really tough for any small business owner to successfully run a business in the Castro, and this is our call out to the city to do something. Every year we pay the city taxes, and we pay the city licensing fees to operate a business in this city, and if they’re unable to fulfill their obligations for that money we’re paying, then we’re going to take action.”

On August 8th, the Castro Merchants Association sent a letter to city leaders demanding that something be done regarding homelessness in the district. Contained within the letter is a suggested course of action that includes funding 35 beds designated to help the homeless in the area, calls to develop a plan for those who refuse housing/services, and monitoring/reporting monthly on whose been offered assistance and how many have been rendered said assistance.

San Francisco’s Department of Public Health and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing issued a joint response to the collective’s letter on August 25th.

In said response, both entities claimed that they cannot specifically allocate beds for the homeless in one particular neighborhood but proclaimed that approximately 250 beds have since opened up throughout the city overall.

As for the request for a detailed action plan and monthly metrics on those who are homeless who refuse assistance, the two entities asserted they already have a protocol in place but that “state law sets a very high threshold” on what they can forcibly do with respect to homeless individuals who repeatedly refuse assistance.

“For individuals who consistently decline assistance, City agencies are collaborating to use every tool we possess to support the individual’s well-being and welfare and to protect community safety, including involuntary care when individuals are eligible. Clinical teams are trained in assessing individuals for involuntary holds.

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“However, California state law sets a very high threshold for these holds and, often, that threshold is not met, even when it looks to the public like an individual ‘needs help.’ To address the rising concerns in the Castro, we have established a weekly case conference specifically focused on individuals identified as needing assistance by the Castro community.”

The merchant group hasn’t explicitly stated a timeline for when they may make their next move to push city officials to get the ball rolling, but Karraker says that if whatever is presented isn’t up to snuff, then the tax withholding endeavor may come into play.

“We’re waiting for the city to give us a response that we think has tangible results that are measurable. The Castro has a very long history of civil disobedience, and it’s not beyond question that we might take those kinds of steps.”

This piece was written by Gregory Hoyt on August 28, 2022. It originally appeared in RedVoiceMedia.com and is used by permission.

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