SJ Caltrans Property Considered For Homeless Housing Community

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Two acres of Caltrans property in San Jose that the agency has been working to expunge of waste and safety hazards after clearing out a homeless encampment is one of three locations being considered for emergency housing for the homeless, a city housing division manager said today. The city's Homelessness Interventions and Solutions Division, a part of the city's Department of Housing, released an informational memo on Monday from their director on three final locations they are considering for a "bridge housing community" out of the 122 that had been submitted for review, acting division manager James Stagi said.

The Caltrans land off Felipe Avenue just southwest of the overpass connecting Interstate Highways 280, 680 and U.S. Highway 101, a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority construction staging and storage area located on Mabury Road near Coyote Creek, and a city-owned property near Hellyer Avenue and Silicon Valley Road scored the highest in the scoring criteria approved by the City Council in June 2017.

The site eventually chosen will accommodate unhoused working adults or those with a work history, city officials said.

Stagi said that the Caltrans-owned property was not selected for the top three final locations because of the homeless encampment gaining local exposure in recent weeks when the cleanup began, but rather because
Caltrans submitted the site to them for consideration.

Advocates for the homeless like Pastor Scott Wagers, who organized a protest against the first day of the Caltrans cleanup on Feb. 5, are approaching the consideration of the location as a happy surprise they are
nevertheless viewing with some reservations.

Wagers mentioned how long the process to build in the location would take if it was selected and the small amount of need it would address as the two biggest downfalls for the homeless who live off Felipe Avenue.

Wagers cited the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner's Office's report on homeless deaths from 2011 to 2016 to emphasize that homeless are dying on the streets due to a lack of resources each year.

According to the medical examiner's report, there were just 50 homeless deaths on the street in 2011, but by 2016 that number was up to 132.

According to Wagers, 138 homeless people died in Santa Clara County in 2017. That number was not immediately confirmed by information available from the medical examiner's office.

"The property can be used to do some good, which if you could find the silver lining out of all this, that would be it," Wagers said.

Stagi said that the city's next step is to begin a partnership with independent environmental consultants to do initial studies on the possibility of bridge housing communities at each location, a process that could take three to four months.

Once the environmental reports have been conducted, the housing department will go back to the San Jose City Council anytime from early to mid-summer with recommendations on which location would be the most fitting, Stagi said.

The Council will then choose which location the first community will be developed at.

Stagi said that the housing department estimates anywhere between 20 to 40 emergency sleeping cabins will be built to establish the pilot community. While cost predictions are still preliminary, each one will cost
between $18,000 and $20,000.

A public meeting will be held in each district that has a location being considered so that residents can voice their input.

Wagers said that he believes that the site near the overpass that connects the three freeways would be a great location because there is just one residential home on the block and a storage unit at the very end of the street, so the street is not busy.

"In San Jose, people are worried about their property values going down because of problems associated with the homeless," Wagers said. "It is a real and ugly battle."

Information on meeting times and locations for each district involved can be found at Sanjose.gov.

By Bay City News Service

Image via City of San Jose