Judge rejects bid to block sale of hotel for homeless
Ex-Mayor Jose Esteves founded group opposing it
MILPITAS >> A controversial plan to convert a hotel to permanent housing for more than 100 homeless people can proceed, a judge has ruled.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Patricia Lucas on Monday rejected the bid of a group of Milpitas residents to immediately pause the sale of a hotel that Santa Clara County wants to turn into supportive apartments for the homeless, according to the county’s attorney, James Williams.
As part of a lawsuit, Voices of Milpitas LLC, a residents group founded by former Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves, filed a temporary restraining order Nov. 9 to block the project, court and state documents show.
At t or ney s f rom t he Downey Brand law firm, representing Voices of Milpitas, alleged the project would waste taxpayer money because the hotel is overpriced, would endanger neighbors, would skip due process and would violate the California Environmental Quality Act.
The project’s roughly $80 million cost would cover the purchase of the 146-room Extended Stay America hotel at 1000 Hillview Court, as well as the renovations
needed to convert it to a 132-studio apartment complex for people who are homeless or on the edge of homelessness. On-site supportive services would be provided.
Santa Clara County was awarded $29.2 million in state emergency funding through Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Project Homekey Initiative in September to help fund the project.
The county plans to kick in $21.9 million of its own from the 2016 Measure A bond for affordable hous
ing, and nonprofit developer Jamboree Housing would take on a $30 million loan to cover the balance, officials previously have said.
Such projects are allowed to bypass local planning processes under AB83, legislation Newsom signed into law in June.
The temporary restraining order could have effectively killed the plan if granted because officials have said the hotel’s sale needed to close by Wednesday or the state could divert
the money elsewhere.
Williams said the court will have another meeting with the county and the attorneys for Voices for Milpitas in the coming weeks to discuss what happens next with the lawsuit.
“They can continue to litigate this case, but we’re moving forward with the project unless there’s a court order that blocks it. This is vital for the residents, and their legal arguments are frankly not very compelling,” he said, noting the judge mentioned a lack
of evidence in her decision.
Attorneys for Voices of Milpitas did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday, nor did Esteves or Suraj Viswanathan, a former City Council candidate who started a petition to oppose the hotel project in October.
Among other things, the group’s complaint contended that because the project may not reserve any apartments for currently homeless people in Milpitas, it could significantly increase the area’s homeless population and pose a danger to nearby residents, although it didn’t specify how.
The legal filing also repeated some concerns Mayor Rich Tran raised in past public meetings that people living at the converted hotel may have alcohol or drug addiction issues and mental health needs, and noted there is a BevMo liquor store within walking distance of the property.
The City Council previously voted to sue to stop the project, then backed off in a split vote Nov. 4.
During a Nov. 10 special meeting, the council voted 4-1 to approve spending $200,000 to have Santa Clara County specialists perform targeted “homeless outreach, assessment and street-based case management services.” Tran abstained from the vote, saying some assessments already were happening in the city.
“I’m not wasting valuable money; we’re out of money,” Tran said.
Williams said his team would continue to defend the project against any legal actions.
“The reason we’re doing this, the reason the county is involved, the reason the state made this money available, the actual important thing is to get these vulnerable people living in our community who need a home, get them a home in the middle of the worst pandemic in a century,” he said.