Newsom says San Jose should take urgent action on homeless camps

Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling on local governments such as San Jose to use state funds for urgent action to address “dangerous” homeless encampments.

Newsom’s executive order on Thursday suggests notifying homeless residents at least 48 hours before an incoming sweep. Locally, San Jose tends to give more notice, as officials want to enforce a scaled approach. First, the city offers resources and shelter repeatedly to homeless people living in camps. Those who refuse services will be swept and lastly, unhoused people can be cited or arrested. The city is in the process of clearing and finding housing for hundreds of people living along its waterways.

The executive order comes weeks after a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled cities can legally ban homeless residents from sleeping on public property — and it could be the start of Newsom’s push to appear tough on encampments as his name is floated for vice president.

“It sounds like Newsom is posturing for a role in the potential Kamala Harris administration,” Todd Langton, executive director of homeless advocacy nonprofit Agape Silicon Valley, told San José Spotlight. “He knows he’s got baggage, so to speak, with California homelessness, crime and all of that. I believe he’s making this big declaration to appear more conservative.”

Thursday’s executive order also said state agencies should make plans to clear homeless camps from state property. Newsom is directing agencies to model their sweeps after Caltrans. California has cleared out more than 11,000 encampments since July 2021.

“The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets,” Newsom said. “There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part.”

Caltrans spokesperson Edward Barrera said Newsom’s executive order won’t affect the transit agency’s existing encampment removal operations, but hopes it will encourage more local agencies to ramp up their efforts.

“Caltrans is responsible for maintaining the state’s transportation network, including protecting and maintaining the highway infrastructure, and understands that to solve the state’s homelessness crisis, it takes state and local agencies working collaboratively to devise sustainable, equitable solutions,” he told San José Spotlight.

Newsom’s announcement makes no mention of permanent housing, though recommendations from advocates in groups like Santa Clara County’s homelessness task force said more permanent housing is needed to truly address homelessness. For every one household in the county that is housed, nearly two become homeless.

A study cited by the task force also showed the county spends more than $500 million per year addressing homelessness.

In San Jose, Mayor Matt Mahan and councilmembers voted earlier this year to invest millions more in Measure E funds to tackle encampments along the creeks and provide emergency temporary housing. A state audit found between fiscal years 2020 and 2023 San Jose spent more than $302 million on homeless support services — about $88.6 million came from state funds.

But Newsom said local governments now have the necessary tools and authority to take on encampments in light of the Supreme Court ruling.

Mahan said he and fellow city officials are working around the clock to develop safe, managed placements and require they be used.

“We’re eager to work with the state to responsibly and quickly remove encampments from state property in San Jose, especially those adjacent to neighborhoods and in dangerous areas along our freeways and on- and off-ramps,” he told San José Spotlight. “We appreciate Gov. Newsom’s order signaling that the state is also ready to solve this crisis with both compassion and urgency.”

Langton said he supports Mahan’s efforts to launch more temporary housing and safe sleeping sites, but the process needs to speed up.

“We don’t need those sites a year or two from now, we need them immediately — especially with the accelerated program Newsom wants to launch,” Langton told San José Spotlight.

Contact Vicente Vera at [email protected] or follow @VicenteJVera on X, formerly known as Twitter.