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At the San Jose City Council on Nov. 29, outgoing Mayor Sam Ricardo said the city has a problem with the sale of homeless housing. San Jose residents want homeless housing, but not near home.
In many areas there is a clear lack of trust and confidence that homeless housing solutions and their homes can co-exist. Applies to all options.
San Jose has earned that lack of trust. Last June, the city council voted 8-2 for him, allowing him to build 400 tiny homes on six lots. One of his sites on Noble’s Avenue, adjacent to the Penitencia Creek Trail and across from Noble Elementary School, was assigned 100 homes, but Noble’s site is a private parkland. did. City officials have thoroughly analyzed Noble Site and determined that it is still suitable for homeless housing.
Surrounding communities have voiced their unacceptable loss of the park. Those opposed to this use held a rally in his August, and Alderman he persuaded David Cohen to attend. He vowed to fight land-use diversion.When this issue was raised he jumped to the Council on November 29th. Councilors voted again and removed Noble Site as an option.
The decommissioning of the Noble Site was a great benefit to the surrounding community, but a great loss to the city’s credibility to value suitable sites.
Instead of pointing out many other examples of this problem, let’s discuss what needs to be done. It’s simple and straightforward, start by going out in your neighborhood and having a candid conversation about the various options above. It should also include providing residents with tours of existing permanent and temporary facilities. Homeless advocates don’t support this idea, but you may need to add camp restricted areas around each site. It should be large enough to show your neighbors the benefits of having land.
Restoring trust takes time. It comes down to communication, letting the community know what the solution looks like, and dispelling myths circulating on social media. Let’s hope that in 2023 the new mayor’s administration and mayor’s office can begin that process.
San Jose Spotlight columnist Bob Staedler is a principal at Silicon Valley Synergy, a San Jose-based land-use and development consulting firm. His column appears on the first Monday of each month.contact bob [email protected] Or follow @BobStaedler on Twitter.
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