VTA Board: Key decision on placement of 200 housing units tonight

October 05, 2023

Dear Neighbors of Hamilton Place,

Below is a template that I requested from Mayor Matt Mahan’s office in support of having the VTA Board build 200 tiny homes in a key decision being made on Thursday, October 5, 2023. In my role of HPNA President and as an advocate for our neighborhood, I believe that having all 200 homes in one location would benefit our stretch of the Los Gatos creek between Leigh and Bascom Ave. by allowing us to give specific offers of housing to the unhoused in our multi-point plan to adopt the creek behind our neighborhood.

The Cerone VTA yard is located 12.6 miles away from our neighborhood.

To find out how you can support the HPNA in adopting the creek behind our neighborhood, please scroll further down and consider taking email action before 1:00 pm today.

Edit: Thank you for those who sent an email out. Emails are now closed. You can still comment for 1-minute at the Zoom meeting tonight.

Please direct all questions regarding the Cerone development to the Mayor’s office at (408) 535-4800

Thanks,
Samuel Lum
President
Hamilton Place Neighborhood Association


Dear Neighbor,

The State of California gave San Jose 200 tiny homes. The Valley Transportation Agency’s (VTA) Cerone site in North San Jose, which has an empty field outside of the maintenance yard, is the location voted on tomorrow. This site can hold the 200 units while still accommodating VTA’s needs and without requiring major infrastructure investments.

The Mayor has been advocating for more EIH sites and resources, but it takes your advocacy and the entire council to be on board. That is not something the Mayor can guarantee, but this VTA vote is the move in the right direction.

Meeting details:

In-person: Board of Supervisors’ Chambers, County Government Center, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose, CA 95110

  • Attendees who wish to address the Board of Directors are encouraged to complete a speaker card and submit BEFORE the item is heard. The speaker cards are available on the public information table at the in-person meeting location.

  • Call in (telephone): US: +1 669 219 2599 or +1 669 900 9128 Webinar ID: 874 1512 8384

Homelessness is an emergency. And in an emergency, you take emergency action. We need to take the course of action that makes sense – and gets the most people indoors the fastest. And that’s 200 units Cerone.

I hope you will join me in pushing for this common sense action on homelessness.

P.S. In addition to making your voice heard at public comment, you can send an email to the VTA Board of Directors sharing your thoughts. Please email each member of the board by 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 5, 2023, and cc [email protected].
cc [email protected] 

Below is a drafted letter you can send to the board members. The best letters have a personal story or touch to make them stand out – so please don’t hesitate to make it your own.

Dear Board President and Board Directors,

My name is (YOUR NAME) from (YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD/ORGANIZATION), and I am writing to thank you for voting to advance interim housing projects on VTA-owned land last month. I encourage the Board to follow through on its commitment by voting YES on a lease agreement that places 200 units of emergency interim housing next to Cerone Yard.

San Jose is facing a homelessness crisis with more than 4,000 people living on our streets, along our creeks, and even our transit systems. We need compassionate solutions to help people get back on their feet, and the City’s EIH proposal will do just that. Over 70% of residents who enter the City’s EIH communities graduate to get stable housing and over 50% of those individuals find permanent housing.

These sites are safe with private on-site security, full perimeter fencing, and staff on-site 24/7 to address any needs. The City of San Jose has also indicated that the site will include reasonable security measures to ensure that every individual in and outside of the EIH site feels safe. Further, joint analysis by VTA and City staff shows that Cerone can accommodate the 200 units while making room for VTA’s current and future operational needs. This solution is a win-win-win.

We thank VTA staff for identifying and recommending additional VTA-owned land for EIHs. However, pivoting to a two-site approach will only slow us down and escalate development costs. We need housing now, not more wheel spinning.

I urge you all to vote YES on a lease agreement to place 200 units next to Cerone Yard for Emergency Interim Housing (EIH).

Thank you,

YOUR NAME

ORGANIZATION/NEIGHBORHOOD

Yours in service,

Additional key points 

One Site vs. Two 

  • Moving from one site to two doubles the annual operating costs 

    • One site (200 people): $4-5 million/year operating cost 

    • Two sites (100 people per site): $7-9.5 million/year operating cost 

    • This ties up funding the City could be using to operate other sites, or sites in the pipeline, ultimately reducing the number of people the City can serve across the portfolio of interim housing 

  • Developing two sites instead of one adds significant delays 

    • Except for one, the alternative sites proposed by VTA staff have not been thoroughly vetted by City staff, nor have they been approved by City Council. Community engagement also hasn’t occurred for two of the alternative sites. 

    • Pivoting to another site will likely add at least 9 months to the process – time we don’t have if we’re truly treating homelessness like the crisis it is 

  • City staff will likely need to pause ongoing work on other sites in the City’s pipeline to pivot their time and attention to deliver 200 units on two sites versus one 

    • This will add delays to other sites that are closer to construction (e.g. Cherry Avenue and Rue Ferrari expansion) 

Success  

  • This model has already proven to be successful – for both housed and unhoused residents – in other parts of the City.  

  • Interim housing is one stop on people’s journey to stable housing, and they work. Over 70% of residents who enter EIH communities graduate to stable housing, with about 50% finding permanent housing – demonstrating far better results than traditional congregate shelter.  

  • EIH communities make good neighbors, especially when compared to the alternative – unmanaged encampments. On average, in the neighborhoods that host EIH’s we’ve seen calls for service for crime and blight decrease.  

  • Unsheltered homelessness is going down because of this model. The most recent homelessness census marked a 10.7% reduction in unsheltered homelessness and a 4.7% reduction in overall homelessness in the City of San José from 2022 to 2023. This is the second year in a row that homelessness has been reduced after almost a decade of climbing rates. These reductions correspond to the city’s Emergency Interim Housing or Quick-Build Communities coming online, in concert with continued investments in permanent supportive housing and prevention.  

Safety  

  • These sites have staff onsite 24/7.  

  • In addition, there is private security on site and anyone entering the site must check in at the security office.  

  • Security and professional site management are overseen by the City’s Housing Department.  

  • The San José Police Department and Fire Department would help provide law enforcement, emergency medical, and fire response, consistent with what is currently provided at the City’s shelter/interim housing communities. 

Dignity  

  • These EIH are designed to help people on a temporary basis as they transition from the street to more permanent housing options.  

  • EIH communities offer a safe and dignified options for people, offering a much better alternative to the unmanaged conditions in encampments.  

  • Individuals have access to a private room and bathroom; communal spaces with kitchens, computer rooms, and laundry; meals; space for pets and storage; and wraparound supportive services.  

  • We need all of San Jose to do their part to address our homelessness crisis. If we don’t, our unhoused neighbors will continue to languish and die on our streets.  

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