After months of opposition, a controversial plan to build tiny homes in North San Jose has been dropped, but residents are still skeptical. The city is not moving forward with a plan to build 100 tiny homes at the Dr. Robert Gross Groundwater Recharge Park on Noble Avenue, according to a memo issued last week from Deputy City Manager Omar...
Homeless resident sues San Jose over sweep
A homeless person living at the sprawling camp near Columbus Park is suing San Jose over the monthlong sweep. Rudy Ortega filed a federal complaint this week against San Jose alleging city officials and the city’s partners breached their contracts and violated his constitutional rights—the city is sweeping where Ortega has been staying. The lawsuit,...
Mountain View settles lawsuit over RV parking
A group of RV owners who sued Mountain View over rules that banned oversized vehicles from parking on city streets have reached a tentative settlement. The settlement, announced on Thursday, will wrap up a more than yearlong legal dispute over the city’s dual ordinances—banning oversized vehicles from parking on “narrow streets” that are 40 feet...
San Jose sweeps homeless to meet federal deadline
With a shopping cart full of his belongings, Jonathan Todd Carlson watched as bulldozers broke down his makeshift home for the last six months—a tarp shelter near Columbus Park. A mechanic by trade and a veteran of 10 years, Carlson has been navigating homelessness in San Jose since 2015, after spending his money on his mother’s...
San Jose gets millions for prefab homeless housing
With an influx of $50 million from the state, San Jose is gearing up to build more than 200 prefabricated units in the southern part of the city. A new housing site on Branham Lane and Monterey Road will be a the first of its kind in the state—a three-story prefab modular project with 204...
San Jose offers homeless services before final sweep
San Jose is connecting homeless residents with resources days before it sweeps them from a sprawling encampment near Columbus Park. Dozens of unhoused residents strolled down Spring Street Thursday afternoon for food and services, ranging from legal help, youth and veteran services and health care. The city partnered with Santa Clara County and groups such...
One San Jose woman’s journey out of homelessness
After nearly two harrowing decades of living on the streets, Kellie Goodman finally has the keys to her first San Jose apartment. “I cried,” Goodman told San José Spotlight. “Then I took a long shower and jumped into bed. I haven’t been able to do that for a long time.” Goodman, who used to work...
Santa Clara expects increase in homeless residents
Santa Clara wants to address homelessness throughout the city, as officials expect the number of unhoused residents has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Advocates and residents discussed the prevalence of homelessness in Santa Clara during a Tuesday meeting of the city’s eight-member homelessness task force, which launched at the end of April and meets monthly...
UPDATE: San Jose reconsiders homeless housing at park
San Jose may pause plans to construct tiny homes in the north part of the city, following fervent backlash from neighbors. On Wednesday, the city’s Rules and Open Government Committee unanimously approved potentially stopping plans for homeless housing at a park on Noble Avenue. The full San Jose City Council will weigh the decision at...
San Jose coalition must raise six-figures to fund homeless center
A plan to transform a vacant building near downtown into a homeless hub may fall apart unless advocates raise a miraculous sum of money in about a week. A coalition, made up of homeless advocates, religious leaders and nonprofits, wants to turn the former Apollo Adult Day Care building at 303 N. 15th St. into...