Santa Clara County wants to purchase a tiny home village for homeless residents from San Jose and use it to house formerly incarcerated people — sparking safety concerns from nearby homeowners.
San Jose launched the Monterey/Bernal tiny home site as emergency housing in October 2020 to house residents who became homeless during the pandemic, with support services offered by nonprofit HomeFirst. County Behavioral Health Services officials want to convert it to house participants of their jail diversion program, but neighbors who don’t want the program in their area are pushing back. An upcoming San Jose City Council vote that would have led to the land sale has been delayed so city leaders can find out more about the county’s intentions.
District 2 Councilmember Sergio Jimenez, who represents where the site is located, said his constituents have reached out to him wanting to know more about the proposed new housing and jail diversion program.
“It’s not a done deal,” Jimenez told San José Spotlight. “Some folks get a little cynical about the way things are done, backroom deals and the like, but that’s just not the way things happen.”