San Jose Councilman David Cohen (City of San Jose, Getty Images)
A San Jose councilman has joined opponents of a 100-bed tiny home village by essentially saying: not in my public park.
Councilman David Cohen has requested a tiny home village planned on dedicated park land be built elsewhere in North San Jose, SiliconValley.com reported.
The San Jose City Council voted 8-2 in late June to build six tiny home villages, beginning this year. Cohen and another councilman dissented.
The city approved the construction of 400 dorm-like homes to serve as interim housing while homeless inhabitants wait for permanent digs.
A chosen village site on Noble Avenue near the Penitencia Creek Trail is opposed by residents concerned about its proximity to an elementary school and a library. Cohen, who represents the area, said he discovered the Noble site is land dedicated for a public park.
The site has percolation ponds visited by residents on the way to a 2.8-mile Penitencia Creek Trail.
Though he’s supportive of tiny homes in general, he is asking city officials to put the project on hold and evaluate other potential locations in North San Jose.
“I think that it’s important for us to maintain that park land and keep it accessible for the public use,” Cohen told SiliconValley.com. “The community in our district puts a high premium on open space and parks and we shouldn’t be sacrificing that space, especially when we know we have a lot of other possible spaces that we can use to solve this problem.”
In 2007, the city signed a 25-year agreement with Santa Clara County and the Santa Clara Valley Water District to use the Upper Penitencia Creek area — which Cohen believes includes the tiny home site — for “parks, recreation, open space, flood management and water conservation purposes.”
Any changes in the use of the area, he said, would have to be approved by all three governing bodies.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said that while he’s not in support of building tiny homes on park land, the question is whether or not the site is park land — something the city’s attorneys are now trying to determine.
– Dana Bartholomew
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