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San Jose Residents Protest RV Relocation

Recreational vehicles and other trucks and cars are lined up the entire length of Crisanto Avenue along Rengstorff Park in Mountain View on July 11, 2017. RVs have become an increasing choice for the working poor in the Santa Clara Valley as rents and mortgages have skyrocketed over the past few years.
(Daily News file)
Recreational vehicles and other trucks and cars are lined up the entire length of Crisanto Avenue along Rengstorff Park in Mountain View on July 11, 2017. RVs have become an increasing choice for the working poor in the Santa Clara Valley as rents and mortgages have skyrocketed over the past few years.

The City of San Jose is opening a new temporary parking site for people living in recreational vehicles Tuesday.

The parking site in north San Jose will have capacity for up to 20 people living in RVs. The city will also provide security, sanitation, and other services.

The plan will likely cost around a half-million dollars, which will be provided through the American Rescue Plan stimulus bill.

People living in nearby Renaissance Drive and Vista Montaña neighborhoods however, are protesting. They say the city failed to properly notify them, though it held months-long negotiations with Apple, unhoused community members, and other organizations.

The residents have put up signs in the neighborhood calling for a move-in day demonstration and lit up message boards on the neighborhood based social media app Nextdoor.

The city plans to keep the RV parking site open for nine months before transitioning to longer-term and larger scale alternatives.

Katherine Simpson is a teacher and journalist in the Bay Area. She's been working in public radio since 2018.