San José is kicking off a city-led, 50-day push along a one-mile stretch of Coyote Creek, aiming to move people from the Coyote Meadows encampment into shelter while hauling out the debris that has been clogging the waterway. City teams say they will offer interim housing at the newly opened Cerone community and work to cut down on pollution flowing into the creek. Notices have already gone up at Coyote Meadows, and officials say a formal clearance of the area is slated to start April 15, combining housing placements, daily outreach and environmental cleanup.
City Launches 50-Day Outreach As Clearance Date Nears
According to a post by the City of San José, outreach workers will be on site every day throughout the effort, offering shelter, services and case management while documenting encampment conditions. The city says its goal is to connect roughly 100 people currently living in Coyote Meadows with interim housing and other support. Local coverage reports that the formal clearing is scheduled to begin April 15 and could last 30 to 60 days, depending on weather and site conditions, as noted by CBS Bay Area.
This morning, City staff posted a 50-day notice at the Coyote Meadows encampment, which staff will begin clearing on April 15. Over the coming weeks, outreach workers will be on site to connect the approximately 100 people living there to services and prioritize placements pic.twitter.com/o8ZqQ6eRHR
— City of San José (@CityofSanJose) February 25, 2026
Cerone Tiny-Home Site Is The Main Shelter Offer
The primary shelter option on the table is the city’s newest interim housing community at Cerone, a tiny-home style site on city-leased land in north San José. According to the City of San José, the leased site at 3990 Zanker Road is designed to house about 200 people across 47 single-story manufactured homes and includes communal kitchens, showers, laundry, storage and on-site case management. The Cerone site is part of the city’s emergency interim housing program and is meant as a temporary stop while residents work toward longer-term housing.
From ‘The Jungle’ To Coyote Meadows, The Past Still Lingers
The Coyote Meadows stretch near Senter and Story roads has a long and complicated history with encampment sweeps. For years it was widely known as “The Jungle,” one of the region’s largest encampments, and it has come to symbolize the tug-of-war between restoring public land and finding adequate shelter for people living along the creek. Local reporting has traced that backstory, along with concerns raised by residents and advocates, in coverage by outlets such as San José Spotlight.
Notices, New Beds And The Question Of What Comes Next
Officials say outreach teams are handing out notices and written materials in English, Spanish and Vietnamese while offering transportation and placements into available interim beds, as reported by CBS Bay Area. The city characterizes the effort as both a shelter-first push and an environmental fix intended to reduce pollutants entering Coyote Creek and meet stormwater regulations, according to a post by the City of San José. Advocates and service providers, however, continue to say that without more truly long-term housing, even large-scale clearances like this are likely to result in people being displaced and then circling back to the creeks again.
