San Jose’s Berryessa District Aims to Be the Largest Secure Parking Lot Ever

San Jose’s Berryessa neighborhood has been legally allowed to park up to 85 vehicles in highly industrialized locations along Coyote Creek as part of a larger strategy to reduce homelessness, allowing RV residents to It has the potential to be the largest licensed parking lot in the history of the city.

The San Jose City Council plans to vote in early June on whether to lease the 6.3-acre parcel at 1300 Berryessa Road from Tereno Realti. Acquired for $23 million in 2021. If approved, the city will pay the real estate group $18.9 million in 10-year lease payments.

A secure parking lot about a mile from the nearby BART station at Berryessa could cost more than $24 million over five years, including site improvements and service costs. City officials say there is no maximum length of stay for parking lots, but the ultimate goal is to provide permanent housing for residents. The city has not yet announced an opening date.

Deputy City Manager Omar Passons said RV residents in North San Jose’s 3rd and 4th districts will be given priority access to the location. Only homeless residents with RVs are allowed indoors, but they are allowed to bring their vehicles.

“We’re going to make this place accessible and towable for everyone,” Passons said. He added that the city is considering adding restrictions to streets where RVs were once parked but are now transitioning to the Berryessa site. However, the details are still under consideration.

Around 400 people now live in RVs across the city, Passsons said, though an exact tally isn’t available.

The Berryessa location is now surrounded by multiple recycling centers and construction companies. of granite rock Cement processing plants – and the city will conduct soil samples to ensure there are no health risks. The city said the risk would be minimized once the land is paved.

The thinking behind safe parking, strategies for cities and more mountain view and Berkeley Studies have been conducted to keep homeless residents living in RVs and cars off the streets and closer to housing and mental health services.

Berryessa’s proposal is part of a larger push by the city of San Jose to explore interim options for the thousands of residents without shelter, and Mayor Matt Mahan has warned against public safety risks. He argues that this strategy is the most effective when it comes to quickly removing camps deemed to be the whole city.Mayor The city is also considering introducing no-camping zones in parts of the city..

Overall, the region faces a persistent homeless trend. Santa Clara County announced Tuesday. Total homeless population fell 1% compared to last year, according to the latest ‘as of time’ tally. In San Jose, the numbers were slightly better, with the total number of homeless people down 5% to 6,340.

Mayor this month Faced head-on with permanent housing advocates on how to spend tens of millions of dollars on housing solutions. Proponents of permanent housing say that while temporary options such as secure parking lots and quickly constructed shelters may be effective in some cases, they pose a bigger problem of housing affordability in the region. He said it doesn’t really affect it.

For nearly five years, San Jose has considered secure parking. In 2018, The City Council has approved the use of Seven Trees Community Center on Cass Drive as a parking space for approximately 17 families from 7pm to 7am. The following year, the city approved a stay plan for 50 families. Located at the Roosevelt Community Center on East Santa Clara Street and the Southside Community Center on Cottle Road.. None of these sites are currently open, but certain nonprofits offer limited and safe parking alternatives.

This summer, the city will open its first large-scale RV-only secure parking lot at the Santa Teresa Light Rail Station in South San Jose, with room for about 45 cars. This location is subject to the same rules as the Berryessa site. There is no length of stay, access is available 24 hours a day, and priority is given to those living in the public area.

Ray Bramson, chief operating officer of Destination: Home, said it remains difficult to gauge how likely someone will be successfully placed in a permanent residency situation due to limited use of secure parking lots. But overall, Bramson said safe parking strategies should only be viewed as temporary.

“It can’t be a permanent destination,” he said. They need to find true long-term stability. “