Big drop in tent camps in SF, but now RV dwellers are a...

For the first time in years, San Francisco officials are reporting that there are no large tent encampments in the city.

“And I am determined to have San Franciscans see and feel a difference,” Mayor London Breed said.

By “large,” the city means 10 or more tents.

The latest count, ironically, comes right after Tuesday’s passage of Proposition C, which — if it withstands legal challenges — would generate an extra $300 million annually in business taxes and double the amount of money the city spends on homeless services.

San Francisco has roughly 10 camps at the moment, each with fewer than 10 tents.

That is far fewer than two years ago, when some 25 camps, often made up of dozens of tents, were strung out or clustered along streets and freeway underpasses South of Market and in the Mission.

“That’s not to say that an encampment won’t pop up somewhere — but if one does, we have a plan and a place to deal with it right away,” Breed said.

Jennifer Friedenbach of the Coalition on Homelessness said there are likely the same number of tents as before but, “they are spread out — I wouldn’t call that a success.”

Tent camps had been a growing fact of life in the city, starting with the cleanup of downtown for Super Bowl 50 in 2016, which drove many homeless people to other neighborhoods where they previously hadn’t been seen as often.

Former Mayor Ed Lee moved in only sporadically to break up the camps, but his successor, acting Mayor Mark Farrell, began a constant cleanup drive. Breed has quietly continued and expanded that effort, and at times she’s shown up unannounced for walks through sketchy neighborhoods to check on the progress.

As a result, City Hall is reporting a 34 percent reduction in the number of tents on the streets. That translates to 193 fewer tents than the 568 reported in July.

People sleeping on cardboard and blankets on sidewalks and other open areas are still a common sight, but without the garbage and other health hazards that come with the large camps.

But while the number of tent encampments is shrinking, the number of people living in RVs and vans appears to be on the rise, especially in the Bayview, the Excelsior and the Sunset. Neighborhoods are now calling for bans on overnight parking for oversize vehicles, and city officials are studying the idea of opening sanctioned campgrounds to get the estimated 400 mobile campers off the streets as well.

Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, whose Excelsior district has seen a boom in campers, said, “what we need is the same focus of attention and resources to solve the problem of vehicles camping in residential areas as we have given to the tents.”

Family scare: Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom is certainly getting a taste of what it means to have a raised profile, as evidenced by a family scare involving a stalker at his Marin County home just weeks before the election.

Nobody’s talking on the record, but sources tell us a man claiming to be Newsom’s “uncle” showed up outside the family’s Kentfield home last month and started talking up one of the governor-elect’s young children. The man even managed to talk his way inside the house.

Jennifer Siebel Newsom discovered the intruder and authorities were quickly notified.

“It was very, very scary,” our source said.

Neither the Marin County Sheriff’s Office nor the California Highway Patrol, which protects state constitutional officers, had a record of an incident report being filed at the Newsom family’s address for the time period in question.

A law enforcement source said that would indicate no arrest was made, even if other protective measures were taken. A Newsom representative declined comment.

It’s not the first time a stalker has confronted Newsom. In 2003, when he was mayor of San Francisco, he obtained a restraining order against a mentally disturbed man who had worked his way into Newsom’s apartment building late at night.

Final question: Former Mayor Willie Brown revealed another side of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein at her re-election victory party Tuesday night at the Presidio Officers’ Club: her role as matchmaker.

Brown, who was emcee, disclosed that not only was Feinstein responsible for introducing former Secretary of State George Shultz to his future wife, Charlotte Mailliard (San Francisco’s longtime protocol chief), but that the senator also brought together Gov. Jerry Brown and his wife, Anne Gust.

“Two wonderful things that most people don’t know about,” Brown told the largely well-heeled crowd.

The roughly 200 supporters in attendance were all checked at the door.

“This is a little Pac Heights,” critiqued one attendee, who was more accustomed to Feinstein’s previous victory parties, held at the decidedly more casual Delancey Street rehab compound South of Market. (We’re told it had already been booked for another election night gathering.)

The Presidio party was also closer to Feinstein’s home just outside the Presidio.

After winning her fifth term in the Senate, we asked the 85-year-old senior senator if she is finally ready to commit to this being her last term.

“I think so — I think you can figure that out,” she said.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross