San Jose launches plan to clear out Coyote Meadows homeless encampment

By Tim Fang

Officials in San Jose began notifying residents of a large homeless encampment in the city about plans to clear out the area in April.

On Wednesday, the city said they have begun a 50-day outreach process ahead of clearing the Coyote Meadows encampment, a one-mile stretch of land along Coyote Creek that is city-owned.

“For the next several weeks, our teams will be on site every day offering shelter, services, and support to help people move indoors, while also beginning the work to restore this important area along Coyote Creek,” said city manager Jennifer Maguire.

Located near Senter and Story roads, the area had previously been known as “The Jungle.” The area gained notariety ahead of a 2014 sweep when it was known as one of the largest homeless encampments in the country with an estimated 200 to 300 people.

About 100 unhoused people live in the area today, according to city officials.

The city said the notices include in-person outreach, where interim housing would be offered, along with distributing written materials in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

“Over the last three years, we’ve expanded shelter and interim housing faster than any other city on the West Coast,” Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement. “That work has allowed us to decommission our largest encampments so that we can restore public spaces for community use and connect people to the services they need to return to self-sufficiency.”

The area is scheduled to be cleared beginning on April 15, with the process expected to take 30 to 60 days, depending on weather and other conditions at the site.