...
SVNSERVE_BIN=/usr/bin/svnserve
...
SVNSERVE_CONFIG=/etc/sysconfig/svnserve
...
. $SVNSERVE_CONFIG
...
case "$1" in
start)
echo -n "Starting svnserve "
## Start daemon with startproc(8). If this fails
## the return value is set appropriately by startproc.
startproc -u "$SVNSERVE_USERID" -g "$SVNSERVE_GROUPID" -e $SVNSERVE_BIN $SVNSERVE_OPTIONS
...