San Jose is taking contrasting strides when it comes to addressing housing challenges in the city, particularly in the Berryessa neighborhood. The city is considering leasing a 6.3-acre parcel of land at 1300 Berryessa Road from Terreno Realty to create San Jose's largest-ever RV parking site for the homeless, capable of accommodating up to 85 vehicles, according to a Mercury News report. At the same time, the Facchino family has proposed a major urban transformation in the Berryessa district, as Hoodline's Nina Singh-Hudson discovered earlier in May, which would include over 800 homes and a commercial building near the Berryessa BART station - a mere 0.6 miles away from the potential RV parking site.
This juxtaposition of a safe parking site for the homeless and a luxury development just a mile apart epitomizes the challenges and differing approaches to housing issues in San Jose. The city council is expected to vote on the RV parking site lease in early June. If approved, up to 85 RVs could be legally parked along Coyote Creek, serving as part of a larger strategy to reduce homelessness in the city, as mentioned in the Mercury News article.
The proposed safe parking site is close to various industrial facilities, such as recycling centers and Graniterock's cement processing plant. Soil samples will be conducted to ensure that there are no health risks for the parked residents due to potential contamination, according to the same Mercury News report. Meanwhile, on a larger scale, San Jose's proposed plans for the Santa Teresa light rail site seem to have been plagued by delays leaving many homeless dwellers in limbo, as reported earlier by San José Spotlight.
The luxury development proposed by the Facchino family, on the other hand, would bring about a significant change to the Berryessa district. The plan encompasses a mix of residential and commercial spaces, including up to 820 homes, apartments, condos, and townhouses, as well as a nearly one-acre park, according to the Hoodline article. The quarter-mile proximity to the Berryessa BART station makes the site a prime development target, with the strategic placement and surrounding retail and shopping amenities promoting a transit-oriented development model.
What we're witnessing is the simultaneous growth of two contrasting approaches towards local housing needs: providing safe parking sites for the homeless within the RV community, and promoting luxury housing and urban village living in the heart of San Jose. Mayor Matt Mahan has notably been at the center of debates with permanent housing advocates, as detailed in a Mercury News article, with both sides arguing over the allocation of resources towards either interim solutions or long-term affordable housing options.
While San Jose has a history of exploring the use of safe parking sites for its homeless population, with locations such as Seven Trees Community Center and Roosevelt Community Center providing temporary spaces in the past, a Mercury News piece mentions that none of the previous sites are open any longer, leaving nonprofits to offer limited alternatives. The new safe parking site at Santa Teresa light rail station is planned to be the first significant site dedicated solely to RVs, but its opening timeline remains uncertain as discussed in the San José Spotlight.
