San Jose's Columbus Park to get makeover, homeless encampment will be removed
The Brief
Revitalization plans for Columbus Park began in 2019.
About 200 unhoused people currently live in the park.
Columbus Park was cleared back in 2022 after San Jose Mineta Intl. Airport required it.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Columbus Park in San Jose will soon get a makeover. The City Council voted unanimously to revitalize the park that's been closed for years and is now inhabited by people who don't have permanent housing.
The city has not said exactly where the unhoused people will go and when they'll have to leave the park. But advocates say, many people will simply end up in another area of the city.
"We will restore public parks and trails to public access. We will in parallel expand shelter and interim housing," said Matt Mahan, San Jose Mayor.
What they're saying
On Tuesday, San Jose City Council voted to revitalize Columbus Park. The new 9.4-acre redesign will include soccer fields, pickle ball courts, picnic space and a play area. It'll cost about $24 million and will be paid for with Measure P funds.
"Where are the people from Columbus going to go? I want to thank you all for turning off the water. What a human right people don't have now at Columbus!" said Catherine Hedges, of San Jose, during the council meeting.
"I don't want to stop the redevelopment of public parks, but we have to have a plan for people. We have to," said the San Jose resident, who calls himself the Batman of San Jose and wears a Batman costume during meetings.
What we know
Columbus Park is temporarily closed and in poor condition. It's now partially occupied by d. ozens of RVs and about 200 hundred people without permanent housing. In 2022, the city was required to remove everyone from the park which falls under a flight path of the San Jose Mineta International Airport. Shaunn Cartwright is a homeless advocate in San Jose.
"If after the whole FAA situation here, you didn't want more people at Columbus, why would you allow that? So, they swept people from all these other sweeps (camps), the people that didn't end up getting housing, are all here," said Shaunn Cartwright, Unhoused Response Group Founder.
The Columbus Park redesign project is expected to begin in early 2026 and be completed by Fall 2027. Richard Thomas says he recently arrived at Columbus Park with his RV and has been without housing since 2018.
"The city wants to be safe, and they want to be clean. Two things homeless people have in jeopardy at all times, is safety and cleanliness. So, it's tough," said Thomas.
Mahan said water is temporarily unavailable at the park because water spigots and sprinklers had been vandalized and must be repaired.
He also said the city will make 1,000 housing units available within the next year.
The Source
The City of San Jose, San Jose Spotlight, Mercury News, Previous KTVU reporting
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