At the direction of state regulators pushing San Jose to clean up its creeks and rivers, local officials are developing an ambitious plan to move about 500 homeless people living along its waterways to sanctioned encampment sites on public property across the city. The City Council approved the basic outline of the plan last week as part of its new $5.3 billion budget.
On Tuesday, the council will consider how to put it into action. That includes whether to continue evaluating nine properties as potential locations for the managed camps, dubbed “safe sleeping sites” or “basic needs sites.” The sites, which would host around 100 to 150 people each, could provide individual tents, food, toilets, showers, laundry and case management services, with at least limited site security or monitoring.
During a tour of homeless camps along the Guadalupe River on Monday, Mayor Matt Mahan said the proposed sites will be critical to the city’s commitment to state water officials to drastically reduce the amount of trash and pollution flowing into its waterways over the next year. “Until we get people into safe and managed locations, it’s nearly impossible to safely protect our waterways,” Mahan said. There is not yet a timeline for when the sites could open, the mayor’s office said.
But officials aim to approve at least one site by next month, according to a city report. The locations the city is considering include an empty lot at 14020 Almaden Road, as well as 1157 East T.
