San Jose opens city's largest safe parking site

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RVs began moving into the safe parking site on Monday. (Courtesy of the City of San Jose)

SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose has opened its second, and largest, safe parking site in the Berryessa neighborhood, ramping up efforts to offer unhoused individuals a way off of the streets.

The safe parking site – located along Coyote Creek at 1300 Berryessa Road – began a phased opening on Monday, and officials on Wednesday said at least 10 RVs housing 15 people have moved onto the site from nearby streets.

The site has space for 86 RVs and about 100 people in total, and prioritizes local preference, which means that unhoused people living in a 1.5-mile radius of the site will be moved in first. RV dwellers will be allowed to legally park with no maximum stay in an area mostly surrounded by industrial buildings.

Big picture view:

The city in November conducted a census of the number of lived-in, oversized vehicles on San Jose streets. Officials discovered there are 960 such vehicles in the city, meaning the Berryessa safe parking site has the capacity to serve 9% of that population at a time.

"Rows of RVs lining city streets is simply not sustainable — this facility offers a low-barrier path off the streets, and we expect those living in vehicle encampments nearby to take advantage of it," said Mayor Matt Mahan. "We are thrilled to add another safe parking site to the spectrum of solutions we’ve created to end the era of encampments."

The 6.3-acre parcel of parking will be managed by Palo Alto-based homeless service provider WeHOPE, which also operates homeless shelters in San Mateo and San Francisco counties. The organization will be responsible for providing on-site supportive services, including case management, waste services, site security, meal provisions and vehicle repair support.

"We are grateful to partner with the City of San José at the Berryessa site. This is an important opportunity to show up for our unhoused neighbors," said WeHOPE President and Founder Pastor Paul Bains.  "As service partners, WeHOPE is committed to providing comprehensive case management and supportive services that will help this community move forward on their journey to stability, dignity, and purpose. Our mission has always been about helping people excel, and this partnership allows us to address their needs holistically."

The city and WeHOPE will host a grand opening of the site in early April once the new residents have settled in.

By the numbers:

San Jose councilmembers in 2023 voted unaminously to approve a 10-year, $18.9 million lease for the Berryessa site.

The city anticipates that the costs of operating the Berryessa safe parking site will amount to over $24 million over a five-year period.

San Jose also operates an RV Supportive Parking site at the Santa Teresa VTA light rail station in South San Jose, which opened in 2023.