Federal officials are demanding San Jose shut down one of the Bay Area’s largest homeless encampments, complicating an already tense situation as pandemic rules relax and local agencies take a more critical look at the region’s growing tent cities and shantytowns.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the city needs to remove hundreds of people camped on vacant land near the Mineta San Jose International Airport or risk losing federal funding for future airport projects — a threat airport representatives worry could have “significant financial implications.”
The encampment exploded in size during the COVID-19 pandemic, as San Jose and other cities stopped relocating camps to prevent the virus from spreading, and shutting it down will be a daunting task. Officials don’t know where they will move the residents, and housing and shelter beds already are in short supply. At the same time, advocates for unhoused communities say COVID remains a threat and people should not be kicked out of their encampments.
It’s a dynamic playing out across the Bay Area, as city, state and federal agencies begin to crack down on encampments that largely have been allowed to remain in place for more than a year.
“FAA acknowledges that the COVID-19 public health emergency has had a detrimental effect on communities, the economy and the lives of many of our citizenry,” Mark McClardy, director of the FAA’s airports division for the Western-Pacific Region, wrote to the San Jose airport in May. “Please understand, it is not FAA’s intent to show disregard for the homelessness crises, only to ensure that use of Airport property does not become the solution to the crises.”
The camp is on a 40-acre parcel bordered by West Hedding Street, Coleman Avenue and the Guadalupe River Park. San Jose bought it with federal funds to serve as “runway approach protection” — a buffer between the airport and the community in case of a plane crash. A massive encampment has spread through that area and along the riverbanks, trails and gardens of the neighboring Guadalupe River Park, sparking backlash from park-goers, environmentalists and nearby businesses, even as it provides a refuge for people with nowhere else to go.
“I call this the center of my peace and tranquility,” said 57-year-old Jonathan Vallot, standing in front of his setup, which includes a make-shift outdoor dining patio he fashioned out of salvaged tiles. Vallot arrived on the lot near the airport two years ago with nothing but a tarp and two changes of clothes. Now, his area includes a fenced-off private room, wooden furniture, a Christmas tree and an American flag.
Despite the effort he’s put into his camp, Vallot, a former trucker, knows he’ll eventually have to start over again.
City officials estimate 200 people live in the camp in tents, cars, RVs and makeshift structures, but there’s no official count, and activists say it could be far more. It’s the largest encampment in San Jose, and may be the largest in the Bay Area.
The FAA says high noise levels on the land make it unfit for habitation, as planes constantly roar overhead. And while the encampment isn’t interfering with airport operations, a reported increase in bird activity around the camp poses a risk for aircraft, according to airport spokesman Keonnis Taylor.
The city is working on a plan to dismantle the encampment in phases, with the goal of clearing the entire area by next spring. But it’s still unclear where people will go.
“We want to do everything possible to help the encampment residents,” city spokesman Jeff Scott wrote in an email. “There are a number of potential shelter and housing options. We must first assess the encampment residents to understand each person’s preferences, physical requirements, and possible eligibility for various housing programs.”
Gretchen Pace, who has lived on the site for a year, would happily trade it for a city-sanctioned camp protected by fences and rules that keep out drugs and bad behavior. Briana Dawer, who lives in an RV with her two cats, had been at the camp for only a month when she got word she might have to move again.
“I think it’s wrong,” she said, “because we’re not hurting anyone out here.”
The city has erected three modular housing sites for homeless residents during the pandemic, and is considering building a fourth that could help shelter people displaced from the airport encampment. A community meeting to discuss the project is scheduled for Aug. 2.
In the meantime, the airport told the FAA it plans to close the encampment by the end of April 2022 and secure the site with an 8-foot fence.
But that wasn’t enough to appease the federal agency, which wants a specific plan that includes benchmarks and does more to prevent the camp from growing between now and April. The airport asked for an extension until July 31 to present a more comprehensive plan.
This isn’t the first time local officials and the FAA have clashed over a homeless camp. In 2019, the city and county dismantled a sanctioned encampment off Ruff Drive near the airport, after the FAA complained.
Things are different now, in part because federal pandemic guidelines warn against dispersing encampments and potentially contributing to the spread of COVID-19. That makes it a mistake to disband the airport camp, said Shaunn Cartwright, an activist who works with San Jose’s homeless communities. Clearing this massive camp likely will create 10 new camps throughout the city, she said.
“I don’t think they care,” she said of the city, “that dispersing a camp like this with so few places to go means that you’re dispersing these people to a wider and wider area.”