San Jose Begins Enforcement of New Program Aimed At Reducing the Impacts of RV Encampments
New initiative will bring relief to neighborhoods contending with humanitarian, environmental and safety hazards associated with oversized and lived-in vehicles
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 7, 2025
Media Contact:
Tasha Dean, Chief Communications Officer, Office of Mayor Matt Mahan; [email protected]
SAN JOSÉ, CA - In November, Mayor Matt Mahan and the City of San José’s Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the Oversized and Lived-In Vehicle Enforcement (OLIVE) program. After creating an inventory of the most impacted areas in the city, staff used a predetermined criteria to select 30 temporary tow away zones based on site conditions and proximity to sensitive areas such as streets and locations near schools, waterways and around the city’s interim housing facilities.
“With the new year comes a new plan for getting a handle on the overwhelming number of oversized and lived-in vehicles on city streets,” said Mayor Matt Mahan. “Compassion without accountability will not create the change neighbors across San Jose need and deserve. That’s why as we work to bring over 1,000 new interim housing placements online over the next year, we’ll also be requiring that people come indoors by establishing no encampment zones and no parking zones in select areas to preserve our progress and ensure our public spaces are available for everyone to enjoy.”
“This program uses a combination of tactics, executed by multiple City departments, to address growing humanitarian, environmental and safety challenges,” said City Manager Jennifer Maguire. “The effort truly embodies the One Team spirit that is needed to solve our most difficult problems and address the City Council focus areas of Reducing Unsheltered Homelessness, Cleaning Up Our Neighborhoods, and Increasing Community Safety.”
The OLIVE website has an updated map and the table attached includes details on the identified 30 sites, specific street segments to be addressed, and anticipated dates for site initiation. Launching January 6th, one site will be prioritized per week, starting with Chynoweth Ave. which currently includes nearly 20 oversized vehicles.
Initially proposed in the Mayor’s March Budget Message, the pilot program received a budget allocation of $1.5 million with an additional $1.8 million designated for ongoing program funding. These investments have laid the groundwork for the operation’s rollout in the new year, beginning with site establishment:
● Day 1 (Site Establishment): On the first day, staff will place temporary tow-away signs at the site. The signs will show a map of the impacted area and announce the dates for when enforcement will begin – generally 1-2 weeks later.
● Week 1 (Engagement): Engagement efforts will include identifying vehicles within the temporary tow-away zone, data collection, and distributing informational flyers providing vehicle occupants/owners general information about the OLIVE program, potential enforcement, and site clean-up activities, how to comply to avoid towing and what to do if their vehicle is towed. In addition, in coordination with the Housing Department, information on supportive parking sites or alternate shelter options or how to learn about other potential upcoming shelter or housing placements will be shared with vehicle occupants.
● Weeks 2-6 (Enforcement): During the active enforcement period, any vehicle parked within the temporary tow-away zone will be required to relocate. Enforcement will apply to all vehicles parked in the restricted zone, whether lived-in or not.
The OLIVE program is intended to remove vehicles from sensitive areas identified in the site selection process, which include streets and locations near schools, waterways and around the city’s interim housing facilities. As this program moves forward, up to 10 sites will become permanent tow-away zones. Concurrently, the city is working to expand its offerings for those living in vehicles. This year, the city plans to open its second and largest safe parking site — the Berryessa Safe Parking Site — on a 6.3-acre lot in District 4 which can take up to 85 vehicles off city streets.
The outcomes of this pilot program will be monitored, and if proven successful, Mayor Mahan hopes to make the initiative permanent and expand it to other areas in the city. A similar program was launched in 2023 around three San Jose schools after students and families felt unsafe due to crime and vandalism. The areas around those three schools remain clear and the school community has reported reduced crime.
Mayor Mahan will join city staff on Thursday, January 9 at 10:30 a.m to post signage, distribute flyers and provide additional comment at the first site. More details will be shared in advance of this event.
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About the City of San José
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.