County plan to convert San Jose-owned tiny home site into prison diversion site delayed

Santa Clara County's plan to buy San Jose-owned transitional housing projects near Bernal Road and Monterey Road for a prison diversion program has faced fierce opposition from local residents, prompting city officials to temporarily postpone the $8 million sale.

City officials have removed the purchase agreement for the properties at 6066 Monterey Road and 1072-1082 Vermont Street from the agenda for next week's City Council meeting after hundreds of residents accused the city of misleading the public or being nontransparent about the county's plans and the potential broader impact on safety in the South San Jose area, where there are issues with shelter locations.

Joe Lopez, a retired Santa Clara County sheriff's sergeant and candidate for 2nd District City Council, sharply criticized the proposal, calling it a “direct threat to the safety and well-being of our community.”

“To the extent that the county has provided specific information about how it plans to address potential safety risks at the new site, that information has not been shared with residents – and many of them share my concerns about what this could mean for our community,” Lopez told The Mercury News.

County officials said they identified the properties in the spring and notified city staff of their intentions after receiving two grants from the California Health Facilities Financing Authority to facilitate the transaction. The goal of the program is to “improve residents' well-being, support their recovery and ease their transition into long-term housing.”

As part of the county's outreach to the public, a virtual meeting was held last week to discuss the proposed purchase. A flyer sent to residents titled the invitation a “neighborhood meet and greet.”

Abode Services, which has operated the Vermont Street facility for the past few years, notified the city in March that it wanted to terminate its contract with the service provider. San Jose currently has a contract with HomeFirst Services to operate the 2.37-acre transitional housing site on Monterey Road, which houses 78 people in 20 tiny homes. The city estimates the cost of maintaining the site at $2.5 million a year, but expects that amount to rise due to inflation.

A spokesperson for the Santa Clara County Department of Behavioral Health Services told The Mercury News that the jail diversion program has safeguards in place, such as requiring approval from the courts and district attorneys and public defenders to screen participants and continually monitor their progress.

“After admission, the treatment provider is responsible for submitting periodic progress reports to the court, defense and prosecution,” the county said. “In addition, participants must meet regularly with court-ordered community supervision staff. Staff will be available 24 hours a day at both program sites, and the Monterey site also has 24 hour security staff.”

But residents of Districts 2 and 10, which also border the sites, say the latest proposal is a typical example of the situation they have placed the city in in recent years.

Issa Ajlouny, president of Safety Advocate for Empowering Residents (SAFER San Jose), pointed out that there are already several transitional or safe sleeping spaces within a one-mile radius, many of which he said have led to an increase in crime and neighborhood deterioration. This part of San Jose, he said, is affected by a higher rate of homelessness and welfare than other neighborhoods.

“We are just being bullied and they don’t care what we think,” Ajlouny said.

Barbara Gallaty, a nearby resident and business owner, told The Mercury News that a group has tried to talk to local authorities about crime and the problems of illegal camping near the campgrounds, but has received either indifferent responses or heard nothing at all.

This week, Gallaty vented his anger in an email to city officials about the squalid living conditions, the encampments, illegal drug use and the neighborhood's feeling of being “left to its own devices.”

“It looks like a third world country,” Gallaty said in an interview. “Right now it's just a garbage dump.”

Gallaty's comments were repeated in several emails the city manager's office received. As of Wednesday, the city had received at least 140 emails urging officials to delay the purchase agreements or cancel them altogether.