Homeless camp moves to temporary site

Residents of a homeless encampment in San Jose were moved Monday morning to a nearby lot aimed to serve as a temporary camp until a longer-term site can be found, authorities said.

The privately funded Hope Village camp on Ruff Drive, near Mineta San Jose International Airport, moved down the street to a parking lot next to the Service Employees International Union Local 1877 building, California Highway Patrol Officer Ross Lee said today.

The residents of the camp at 1010 Ruff Drive said they had been told that their eight tents and belongings would be cleared out by 8 a.m. today, but an agreement was reached Sunday night with county officials, according to Andrew Lanier, a supporter and recent resident of the camp.

The agreement allows the camp to stay on the SEIU lot for a week while another longer-term location is found, according to Lenine Umali from Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese’s office.

Organizers worked to find the temporary location and arrived at the agreement for the SEIU lot late Sunday night, Umali said.

They are planning to submit a formal request this afternoon to the city of San Jose for another location that could serve as a pilot project to house the homeless, Umali said.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and the CHP were helping this morning to move the camp.

Hope Village had been open for only two days when on Sept. 10 its residents were given a 72-hour notice by the CHP to clear out. The CHP didn’t follow through, instead opting to let supporters and residents find a new location.

That changed on Friday, when Hope Village organizer Peter Miron-Conk said CHP officials told him the camp would be cleared out this morning.