San Jose approves RV safe parking program in Berryessa
SAN JOSE - The San Jose City Council voted to move forward with plans to open a safe parking program in the city's Berryessa neighborhood for homeless men and women living in their cars and RVs.
"There are plenty of people out here like me who are willing and capable of work, willing to be clean and eager to do things to help themselves," says Brooks Buncher who currently lives in his SUV in an encampment near the San Jose airport.
According to the plan, the city would pay roughly $18-million to lease the six-acre site for a decade. The safe parking site would house roughly 80 people.
"Not everybody is out here because they want to be. Not everybody is out here because they have had a better option and chose not to. A lot of us are out here because we simply need a chance to be independent," he said.
Neighbors held a protest outside City Hall Tuesday to voice opposition to the plan.
"As the mother of two young kids, this is not acceptable," says Christine Li who lives near the proposed encampment. She says she's deeply concerned about what type of people may ultimately move into the city-sanctioned encampment.
"If all the neighborhoods are opposing plans like this, then we should find a place further away from the neighbors," she said.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan says he understands the opposition and believes the onus is on the city to prove the program can be effectively managed.
"The question is 'Do you want someone living in a tent or RV that is completely unmanaged -- without security, without services -- in your neighborhood? Or would you like them to be at a site that has security and services and gives them the opportunity to turn their lives around," Mayor Mahan said.