City, county agree on spot for Hope Village
Homeless encampment will be relocated to city owned land
Officials have finally agreed on a spot for the Hope Village homeless encampment to call home.
On Tuesday, San Jose said it would be willing to allow Santa Clara County to operate the tent encampment on city-owned land just south of San Jose International Airport for the next six months while a longer-term location is identified.
The hot button issue has picked up support from local officials across the political spectrum in recent days.
If the city and county can agree on all the specifics, the latest announcement could mean the end of more than a week of uncertainty for the encampment’s residents and organizers.
Originally opened without permission on state land on Ruff Drive near the city-owned parcel where it appears likely to move, the encampment was forced to relocate on Monday to a local SEIU union office down the street. The union, however, had given the encampment about a week to sort out its future.
In a letter Tuesday evening to County Executive Jeff Smith, San Jose City Manager Dave Sykes said the city would be willing to negotiate a lease allowing the county to rent the land for $1 for up to 180 days.
The plot is in what’s known as the “inner safety zone” for the airport and the city has expressed concern that land use restrictions prevent the land from being used for permanent residential purposes.
The county, the city said, would have to provide full indemnification to the city for the duration of the encampment’s time on the land.
Smith said Tuesday evening he was pleased by the response.
“I sent an email saying that we’ll get to work on making it happen,” Smith said. The city, Sykes said in his letter, wants to work with the county to find a long-term home for Hope Village, and to study whether the concept — an encampment with handpicked residents and services such as showers and trash pickup — is effective and could be replicated.
“I think it’s very favorable,” said county Supervisor Dave Cortese, who has been a key player in trying to find a site for the village, of Tuesday evening’s developments.
“I think it’s going to
enable us to do what we wanted to do next and that is establish a more permanent site for Hope Village.”
Moving Hope Village to the city-owned plot could present some challenges, however.
The area is already occupied by some homeless people in unsanctioned encampments. Some have been on the site for years and have resisted offers of help, so finding a way to move Hope Village residents in without creating significant problems could be difficult.
Cortese said the county is prepared to send out medical professionals, mental health professionals and other experts to offer
people services.
“It’ll be all hands on deck, but I’m confident we can resolve that,” Cortese said.
Peter Miron-Conk, cofounder of the nonprofit Casa de Clara Catholic Worker and one of the encampment organizers, said he was “encouraged that both the city and the county are moving forward and taking this seriously.” Smith agreed.
“I’m glad the city and county can be working together on something like this,” Smith said. “It’s not going to be a perfect solution, but it will help.”