San Jose officials have zeroed in on the city’s first location for a sanctioned encampment, where homeless people will be allowed to stay inside tents without fear of being swept.
The lot at 1157 E. Taylor St. could open early next year, with more safe sleeping sites opening by next June. The locations will house between 100 to 200 tents and be modeled after San Diego’s setup, with services, security and sanitation — similar to how San Jose’s tiny home sites are run. Mayor Matt Mahan’s goal is to move about 500 people living by the creeks into sanctioned tent sites.
“It is very important for us to have these safe sleeping locations where we already know there’s unmanaged encampments,” San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres, whose district includes the proposed Taylor Street site, told San José Spotlight. “So it’s not only for the safety of the folks living in these unmanaged encampments, but also the safety of our local community, especially our students.”
Near 1157 E. Taylor St. is an encampment in Watson Park along Coyote Creek. Empire Gardens Elementary School is also in the vicinity.