The move started as the city swept a nearby, sprawling encampment in the flight path of Mineta San Jose International Airport in September.
The San Jose Spotlight reports the city posted notices to sweep the new camp, dubbed “The Field of Dreams,” last week -- with plans to start clearing the field and nearby areas. The sweep, scheduled to go through Nov. 18th, is part of city efforts to clear the area between Hedding Street and Coleman Avenue -- including encampments along the Guadalupe River Trail.
San Jose Parks Director Jon Cicirelli and Housing Director Jacky Morales-Ferrand wrote in a memo that the new encampment posed "significant fire and safety hazards” to inbound aircraft and people on the ground.
San Jose wrapped up its month-long sweep of the land in the flight path of the airport last week to comply with the Federal Aviation Administration's deadline, parks spokesperson Daniel Lazo said. The city risked losing millions in federal funding if the camp wasn't cleared by the end of September.
San Jose has seen its homeless crisis explode in the last few years, with the pandemic upending the lives of residents. The city's unhoused population grew 11 percent during the pandemic, from about 6,000 homeless people in 2019 to 67-hundred this year.
