San Jose Clears 'The Jungle' Again

San Jose began clearing the homeless encampment known as “The Jungle” on April 15, reopening one of the city’s longest-running fights over how to move people out of large camps and where they go next. The site, on city-owned land at Coyote Meadows near Story and Senter roads and across from Happy Hollow Park and Zoo, had become one of the last large encampments within city limits, according to city officials. Mayor Matt Mahan has cast the sweep as evidence that San Jose’s quick-build shelter strategy is working. Residents, legal advocates and some outreach reporting have described a less complete picture, with some people saying they were left outside the shelter pipeline even as the cleanup moved ahead. ### Why is San Jose back at “The Jungle” a decade later? The Jungle drew national attention in 2012 and was previously cleared in 2014, but the encampment re-formed in the years that followed. By early 2026, city officials said roughly 100 people were again living in the area along Coyote Creek. San Jose designated the area for abatement and said the land had to be kept clear to reduce debris and pollutants entering the waterway and to comply with stormwater permit rules. (sjmayormatt.com) April 15 became the start date after what the city described as a 50-day warning and outreach period. NBC Bay Area reported the city said 109 people had agreed to move into transitional housing, mainly at the Cerone tiny-home site, while ABC7 reported about 30 people had already started moving into interim sites as the sweep began. ### What is Matt Mahan trying to prove with this sweep? (nbcbayarea.com) Matt Mahan has made quick-build shelter the center of his homelessness policy, arguing that interim housing can be opened faster and more cheaply than permanent affordable housing. On his policy page, Mahan says San Jose should expand emergency interim housing, including tiny homes and converted motels, and says the city should create 1,000 new interim placements in a year. Spectrum News reported Mahan, who is running for California governor, said he wants to apply the strategy statewide. (nbcbayarea.com) April 21 figures released by Mahan’s office said 48 people — 44% of the by-name list — had moved indoors during the first week of abatement. The mayor’s office said those placements followed months of investment in shelter expansion and called the approach a model for other California cities. ### Did everyone at the site actually get a place to go? Housing Director Erik Solivan told NBC Bay Area that the city had identified a bed for everyone being removed from the encampment and said there were no time caps on their stay. (sjmayormatt.com) City officials said the 109-person by-name list covered people who lived at the Jungle before the sweep began and that later referrals would go through the Taylor Street Navigation Hub or the Here4You hotline. (sjmayormatt.com) San José Spotlight reported that some residents said they had been told they were on the housing list and then learned no placement was available when the cleanup started. Maria Vargas, 55, told the outlet she had spent eight years at the Jungle and was told she had “fell through the cracks.” The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley also said some people risked losing ties to services and community when the camp was broken up. (nbcbayarea.com) ### How is the city trying to stop the camp from returning? Jon Cicirelli, San Jose’s parks, recreation and neighborhood services director, said the city plans to keep the area as a no-encampment zone and patrol it with city staff and police partners after the cleanup. ABC7 reported Cicirelli said the period immediately after an abatement is usually when people try to re-camp most intensely, and that re-encampments in the zone could be removed immediately. (sanjosespotlight.com) The city has said this sweep differs from earlier efforts because it now has a larger shelter system to absorb people leaving major encampments. Solivan told NBC Bay Area that San Jose had opened more than 1,000 shelter beds in the previous 16 months across 22 locations. ### What happens next for residents and for the site? San Jose said in April that debris removal at Coyote Meadows could take up to 60 days, even after people began moving out. (nbcbayarea.com) The mayor’s office said outreach staff would continue helping residents move into interim housing, while people not included on the original list would be directed to the Taylor Street Navigation Hub and the Here4You hotline for services and future motel or interim-housing openings. Coyote Meadows is set to remain open space rather than be converted into another use, according to NBC Bay Area. The next measurable test for the city’s approach is whether the no-encampment zone holds and whether residents referred after the list closed are placed through the city’s shelter system in the weeks following the April 15 sweep. (nbcbayarea.com)