San Jose will clear out large RV encampment near Microsoft data center project

Less than two weeks after Microsoft got the greenlight to build its records center in North San Jose the city will begin clearing a large encampment of RVs lined along Alviso-Milpitas Road on Monday leaving dozens of people scrambling to figure out where they will go next After taking their pleas to the City Council and the tech giant this week to no avail housing advocates lamented what they presumed was a lack of compassion and a concrete plan from the city because multiple of the unhoused residents had no means to move their vehicles and there is not enough available emergency interim housing to relocate them Several of the RVs are inoperable If this city or housing department doesn t have a plan for where rundown RVs are going to go either together or one-by-one what do you think the city is going to do with Columbus Park advocate Gail Osmer reported referencing the city s other plans to clear a large encampment south of the airport later this year This is a joke and on Monday they re going to come and take people s homes and belongings I don t think these people from the city care anymore San Jose stands to benefit significantly from the MW project at Alviso-Milpitas Road as it will generate approximately million in evolution impact fees and over million in annual property tax revenue resulting in the city receiving between million and million in yearly revenue Microsoft also will make million in infrastructure improvements and its project will create construction jobs and employ people once construction is complete Sheena Talosig a general information officer with the city s Parks Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department announced the city posted notifications on April and again on April one week after the planning commission approved Microsoft s conditional use permit This abatement is starting along with the Microsoft Figures Center but this work has previously been scheduled to happen before the announcement from Microsoft Talosig stated The city also initially targeted Alviso-Milpitas abatement for April when it rolled out its oversized and lived-in bicycle enforcement venture to clear car encampments cluttering residents streets and posing constituents wellness and safety challenges Yolie Garcia a homeless advocate from Hope for the Unhoused commented RVs began parking along Alviso-Milpitas Road about three years ago and more in recent weeks the bus population has swelled at times to more than vehicles Several unhoused residents who in the last few days joined the encampment have relocated from Fremont attributing their move to the controversial no-encampment rules passed by the city s council earlier this year A cop whom I had been interacting with handed me the citation and mentioned Leave Fremont I m telling you right now if you want to keep your RV noted Leonardo Leyva who added that he knew at least seven people from Fremont who relocated to Alviso-Milpitas Road After that they were going around citing people and towing their stuff away While Garcia announced she informed unhoused residents that it could not become a homestead because of Microsoft s well-known plans to build a facts center on its -acre property she questioned the city s endeavors to provide the people living there with an alternative On Tuesday Lynn Shipman an unhoused resident living at the future abatement site appeared at the San Jose City Council to ask about the city s plans and to petition city leaders to use their power to delay the abatement Don t let the actions of a sparse leave a bad taste in your mouth about the law-abiding long-term Highway residents Shipman stated Where do you want us to go She was among the several unhoused residents who spoke to The Mercury News on Friday morning and uttered I don t know where I m going to go and were resigned to the belief that the city would not offer any help An RV encampment on Alviso-Milpitas Road in North San Jose had grown to more than vehicles as of April ahead of a scheduled abatement Devan Patel Bay Area News Group Meanwhile Osmer feared the latest abatement could be a sign of what is to come in San Jose referencing comments made by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan on Wednesday in which he stated that if the city required a shelter bed for every person involved in a homeless camp sweep no progress would be made in clearing out encampments in populace parks Related Articles Letters AI firms must show respect for content creators Prop aims to force drug offenders into therapy That s yet to happen in these Bay Area counties Where will the homeless in Columbus Park go when San Jose s largest encampment is cleared for revitalization project San Jose breaks ground on safe sleeping site near Watson Park Authors with Bay Area ties from left and right lay blame for Golden State s woes Garcia also noted that outreach workers have informed unhoused residents about the new interim housing solutions set to come online by the end of the year but have failed to see how this helps address the current predicament of those about to be displaced We knew this was going to eventually happen and I don t have a concern with that but let us help you help everyone else Garcia mentioned