San Jose Clears 'The Jungle' Homeless Camp

San Jose began clearing Coyote Meadows — the creekside encampment long known as “the Jungle” — on April 15 after roughly 50 days of outreach and warnings, city officials said. The site sits near Story and Senter roads along Coyote Creek, across from Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, and had again become one of the city’s largest visible homeless camps. Mayor Matt Mahan’s office said the cleanup was tied both to shelter placements and to stormwater rules requiring the city to keep debris and pollutants out of the waterway. Residents and advocates said the city’s housing offers did not reach everyone living there. ### Why is San Jose clearing this site again a decade later? The Jungle first drew broad attention in 2014, when about 300 people were living in tents and makeshift structures along 68 acres of Coyote Creek, according to San José Spotlight. The city cleared the area then, but people returned over time, and by early 2026 about 100 people were again living there, the outlet reported. (sjmayormatt.com) Coyote Meadows is city-owned land, and the mayor’s office said the area must be kept clear to comply with stormwater permit regulations. KRON4 reported that city crews later removed more than 290,000 pounds of debris and dismantled 57 structures during the four-week operation. ### Where were residents supposed to go? Cerone, a new interim housing site in North San Jose, was the main destination named by the city. (sanjosespotlight.com) San José Spotlight reported in March that people living at the Jungle would be prioritized for placements there, and Housing Director Erik Soliván said in April that 80 of the identified residents would be placed at the newly opened site. (sjmayormatt.com) The city has described Cerone as a quick-build response within a broader shelter expansion. A city release on the project said the site is on VTA-leased land at 3990 Zanker Road, was funded with $12.7 million from the state for the tiny homes, and is part of a larger push to add interim housing beds through tiny homes, safe parking, safe sleeping and hotel or motel conversions. (sanjosespotlight.com) ### How many people were offered shelter, and how many actually moved? NBC Bay Area reported on April 15 that the city said 109 people had agreed to move into transitional housing, mainly at Cerone. San José Spotlight reported the same day that city workers had created a list of 109 people in February and said shelter beds were available for them, while more than 30 people had already moved into Cerone and other temporary shelters. (sanjoseca.gov) By May 15, KRON4 reported that 87 Jungle residents had moved indoors and been connected to services during the abatement, while more than 120 people had been living in the encampment. Mahan said then that the city was “nearing the end” of the cleanup at what his office called San Jose’s last large encampment. ### Why are advocates disputing the city’s account? (nbcbayarea.com) Jim Taylor, a 29-year-old resident, told San José Spotlight on April 15, “This isn’t a sweep, it’s an eviction,” as crews tore down tents along the creek. The same report said some residents were waiting for placements while others said they had received no housing offers and had nowhere to go. (kron4.com) Hector Martinez, who lived along Coyote Creek, told KRON4 in Spanish that some people were left off the housing list. Local advocates told the station that about 40 residents, many primarily Spanish-speaking, received trespassing tickets and that some had been told they “fell through the cracks.” Former Jungle resident Robert Aguirre told San José Spotlight in March that trust is central to getting people indoors after repeated sweeps. “When you lose that trust, it’s too difficult to get it back again,” he said. (sanjosespotlight.com) ### How does this fit Mahan’s homelessness strategy? Matt Mahan has argued that San Jose should expand interim housing quickly and pair those openings with stricter encampment enforcement. (kron4.com) Spectrum News reported that Mahan has emphasized converted motels, tiny homes and tent sites, and said he wants to use that model more broadly after the city added more than 1,000 shelter beds during his administration. (sanjosespotlight.com) March 12 brought a related City Council step when San Jose advanced a plan to spread shelters more evenly across the city, according to KQED. That debate showed the same split now visible at the Jungle cleanup: city officials pressing for faster shelter buildout and some residents and advocates questioning whether temporary sites will reduce long-term homelessness. (spectrumlocalnews.com) ### What happens at the site now? April 15 marked the start of what city officials said would be about a month of clearing work. San José Spotlight reported that once the abatement was complete, the area would be designated a no-encampment zone and posted with signs intended to deter people from returning. The mayor’s office said in its weekly update that the city would continue placing eligible residents into shelter as the operation moved forward. (kqed.org) The next public record of progress is likely to come through additional city updates on Coyote Meadows and through reporting on placements at Cerone and other interim housing sites. (sjmayormatt.com) (sanjosespotlight.com)