Overview

• San Jose will start removing about 300 unhoused residents from Columbus Park next week in a slow, three-month abatement with barricades and police patrols to deter re-encampment.
• Officials say they will open five converted motels, the Taylor Street safe-sleeping site and more than 400 housing units over the coming weeks, although several sites have been pushed back to late August or September.
• Dozens of advocates and encampment residents marched to City Hall and briefly disrupted a council meeting to demand a postponement and guaranteed housing alternatives.
• Mayor Matt Mahan cites a recent murder, a dangerous fire and the park’s high volume of priority-1 911 emergency calls as key reasons for the clearance operation.
• Outreach workers and unhoused residents report confusion over limited notice, restrictive RV buyback terms and the lack of immediate shelter beds.