Santa Clara approves plans for temporary homeless housing

After years of revisions, public debate and negotiations between city, Santa Clara County and nonprofit leaders, Santa Clara has taken another step toward bringing a family-focused interim housing community to a vacant, county-owned site near Lawrence Expressway and Benton Street. Supporters said the project will provide temporary housing and supportive services for families experiencing homelessness while helping them transition into permanent housing.

The Santa Clara City Council unanimously approved an amended agreement Tuesday committing a total up to $6.59 million from the state’s Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) funds and local housing dollars to help operate the Santa Clara Family Community, a 30-apartment Homekey interim housing development with 90 bedrooms. The agreement funds the project’s first seven years of operations, prioritizes Santa Clara families with children and allows the development to serve up to 36 families.

The project, first proposed in 2021, changed significantly after residents raised concerns. Officials reduced the proposal from a four-story, 124-apartment development for single adults to a three-story community exclusively for families with minor children.

“A lot of this was about finishing what we started three years ago,” Elysa Gurman, founder of Santa Clara Housing Advocates, told San José Spotlight. “Three years ago, we never could have imagined that it would have passed unanimously.”

The new project addresses neighborhood concerns that limit occupancy to families with minor children, or children who turn 18 while still enrolled in high school. It requires quarterly reporting, regular community meetings and 24-hour staffing. While state Homekey rules prohibit traditional criminal background checks, officials said all prospective residents will be screened against the sex offender registry before entering the program.

County officials said the project addresses a growing need for interim housing as homelessness continues affecting families across Santa Clara County. According to the county’s Office of Supportive Housing, Santa Clara’s 2025 point in time count identified 794 homeless residents in the city, up from 461 in 2023. County data also shows roughly one in five people experiencing homelessness in Santa Clara are members of families with children, while nearly 300 families countywide wait on average for temporary shelter.

The community will be managed by LifeMoves and include private family apartments, supportive services, outdoor gathering spaces and communal spaces for families. Officials said families will typically stay about six months before transitioning into permanent housing.

District 5 Councilmember Suds Jain said the project’s shift from serving single adults to families with children helped build broader support.

“The biggest difference from the very beginning was before it was going to be for 90 units of singles. And now it’s families only with kids,” Jain told San José Spotlight. “It’s easier to do these things when kids are involved because they’re the most vulnerable people in our society.”

Several councilmembers questioned the project’s long-term funding and operational safeguards before voting. Mayor Lisa Gillmor asked what would happen after the city’s seven-year funding commitment expires and sought assurances that Santa Clara would not eventually become responsible for operating the facility.

“One of my objections to the last time this came forward was, I felt as if the county was telling the city after the seven-year time period, the city was going to take over full operations of this facility, which we are not equipped to do,” Gillmor said at the meeting.

County officials said the city’s commitment is limited to the first seven years of operations. As Homekey co-applicants, Santa Clara County and LifeMoves have committed to funding and operating the project for its first 15 years through their agreement with the state. After that, officials said they intend to continue the program by working with the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.

LifeMoves officials said the project is designed to provide more than temporary shelter by pairing housing with case management, workforce development, therapy and other supportive services aimed at helping families secure permanent housing.

“This isn’t just housing plus healing,” Paul Simpson, chief financial officer for LifeMoves, said at the meeting. “It’s inspiration built into the blueprint. Space designed to be a catalyst where a person doesn’t just get by. They rediscover what they’re capable of achieving and what their goals are.”

Construction is expected to begin after the remaining building permit review and environmental processes are completed later this year. Officials anticipate the first families could move into the Santa Clara Family Community in 2027.

“We need to be picky about the projects we support,” District 4 Councilmember Kevin Park told San José Spotlight. “This project would not have been changed at all if it were not for the residents who spoke out against it in 2023. This was absolutely a success of resident input.”

Contact Maryanne Casas-Perez at [email protected] or @CasasPerezRed on X.