San José Mayor Calls for New City Policy to Preserve Progress on Encampment Management
Mayor Matt Mahan and Council colleagues introduce memo to prevent encampments from returning to Guadalupe River Trail downtown
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2024
Media Contact:
Tasha Dean, Chief Communications Officer, Office of Mayor Matt Mahan, [email protected]
SAN JOSÉ, CA - Today, San José Mayor Matt Mahan, alongside Councilmembers Omar Torres (D3) and Dev Davis (D6), in addition to community stakeholders and residents, announced a new memo which calls on the City to preserve progress recently made reclaiming Guadalupe River Trail for public use and addressing unsheltered homelessness. Last fall, the City leveraged $2 million of State Encampment Resolution Funds (ERF) to relocate unhoused residents into interim housing and close the encampments. The area has already seen instances of re-encampment, threatening the progress made in reactivating a public space for all residents.
“When we offer people housing and clear large encampments, we need to prevent re-encampments and reclaim our public spaces,” said Mayor Matt Mahan. “Our memo starts by preserving our progress at Guadalupe River Trail — let’s make this a model for resolving encampments across the city in the years ahead.”
The memo would direct the City Manager to promptly implement a “no return zone” that prevents re-encampment along the Guadalupe River Trail between 280/87/Woz Way and 87/Julian St using existing resources available through the Encampment Resolution Fund (ERF) grant and the FY 23-24 Adopted Budget through the following means:
Deploying a rapid-response abatement team comprising the two therapeutic specialists funded in the FY 2023-2024 Adopted Budget, or other appropriate classification, to work in close concert with the BeautifySJ team and the San José Police Department (SJPD) to engage with unsheltered residents and advance abatement operations in a safe and humane way
Enforcing park rules set forth by the City’s Municipal Code and installing signage with posted park rules as required by law
Utilizing SJPD’s Guadalupe River Trail Bike Patrol Program
Coordinating with the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy (GRPC) to ensure frequent and robust activation along the river trail, leveraging the $200,000 in City grant funding to GRPC from the ERF to sustain the revitalization project.
“The presence of people biking, walking, and playing in Downtown not only fosters a thriving urban core but elevates the quality of life for residents,” said Councilmember Omar Torres.
"Creating no return zones for encampments removed or cleared along the Guadalupe River Trail will help us keep the trail clean and improve safety," stated Councilmember Dev Davis. "It will support local businesses and establishments like Little Italy and the Discovery Museum and encourage residents to walk."
Outreach teams helped move many of the residents into interim and permanent housing, including the newly converted Arena Hotel. Subsequently, Caltrans and BeautifySJ teams worked for nearly three weeks to close the encampments. These efforts led to an outpouring of support and gratitude from downtown residents and employees who are gradually reclaiming the trail for recreation and commuting.
“The Guadalupe River Trail provides many diverse neighborhoods opportunities to enjoy open space along the river,” said Jason Su, Executive Director of the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy. “Welcoming trails ensure that our community can connect with nature and each other through our unique natural resource.”
Prioritizing small, focused investments today will help avoid dedicating additional resources and staff time in the future if the area becomes re-encamped, and strike a balance with additional cross-departmental efforts that require longer deliberative processes. The memo will come before the City’s Rules and Open Government Committee next Wednesday, January 24. Mayor Mahan is hopeful that similar policy could be enacted to prevent encampments from returning to other public spaces where unhoused residents have been offered shelter.
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With nearly one million residents, San José is the largest city in the Bay Area and one of the nation's most diverse and creative. San José’s transformation into a global innovation center in the heart of Silicon Valley has resulted in the world's greatest concentration of technology talent and development.