Santa Clara staff present two‑year homelessness response plan; council asks for more prevention, services and data

City staff and county partners on Tuesday outlined a two‑year plan to reduce homelessness in Santa Clara, presenting 34 work items that mix prevention, outreach, shelter and housing development while asking the City Council for feedback on priorities and funding.

The update came during a joint City Council and Stadium Authority study session. Deputy City Manager Christine Jeong and Housing Manager Adam Marcus led a staff presentation, and Hillary Armstrong, deputy director at the Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing, gave countywide context and data.

The plan’s immediate focus is a mix of existing work and near‑term pilots: sustaining ongoing rental and eviction prevention; expanding interim and emergency shelter capacity; piloting a hotel‑based inclement‑weather program and short‑stay hotel rooms with the nonprofit We Hope; boosting high‑touch street outreach and case management seven days a week; and developing safe‑parking options for people living in vehicles. Jeong said staff categorized the 34 items as ongoing (about half), planned (10 items staff expects to start within two years) and pending/resource‑contingent (seven items requiring new funding or staffing).

Why it matters: countywide data show an inflow problem — more people are becoming homeless than the system can house. The county’s most recent assessments show Santa Clara city residents represent roughly 6% of county inflow, with many people outdoors or in vehicles and a large share assessed as needing permanent supportive housing, Armstrong said. County figures show about a 1% increase in unsheltered people this year and an 8% increase countywide in total people counted during the most recent point‑in‑time effort.

Key proposals and near‑term pilots - Hotel‑based interim housing/temporary shelter: Staff described a two‑year pilot with We Hope that would reserve five hotel rooms every night year‑round for people exiting outreach and 10 additional rooms available during extreme weather for up to 45 nights. The agreement would also fund seven‑day outreach and case management, food and transportation to medical and benefits appointments. - Homekey award update: Staff said a recent state Homekey award could provide more than $25 million for a family interim housing project at the Benson and Lawrence site — roughly 30 suites (about 90 beds) — and that the city expects an item on the award back to council in August. - Safe parking: Staff reported an inventory effort that screened 155 city‑owned candidate sites and estimated that operating a safe‑parking site for about two years (assuming no land lease) would cost roughly $1.6 million. Staff described two models: overnight (commercial lot rotation) and 24/7 lots for oversized vehicles; operators told staff an economically viable size is typically 20–40 vehicles on a roughly one‑acre minimum site. - Outreach and crisis response: The Santa Clara Police Department’s Community Response Team (CRT), co‑deployed with a PERT clinician, described regular encampment abatements, monthly creek cleanups with Valley Water and case management referrals. Police and CRT leaders warned that if county behavioral health removes the clinician co‑response position, that could reduce the team’s ability to connect people to care.

Budget and staffing notes Staff presented a one‑year implementation budget of about $3.0 million for prevention and crisis response, with roughly $1.6 million of unmet needs; year two was budgeted at about $2.5 million with a smaller gap (roughly $65,000), plus an additional estimate for towing capacity increases. Jeong said many items depend on variable state and federal funding and that staff will return to council with budget items for approval.

Council concerns and public comments Council members asked for more detail on prevention (who qualifies, how the city will target residents at risk), clarification of “chronically homeless” criteria, whether outreach staffing contracts were effective, and the feasibility of adding mobile hygiene/laundry at high‑use sites such as libraries or food distribution locations. Council members also pressed for greater detail on safe‑parking site siting, service levels and waste‑pump‑out plans for RVs. Several public speakers backed the plan’s retail and housing goals and urged the city to prioritize services over enforcement; others urged care in enforcement operations to avoid traumatic losses for people in encampments.

What’s next Staff said council will see the We Hope service agreement soon, a Homekey revenue item in August and a safe‑parking study session later in the fall. Jeong also said staff will propose performance measures tied to inflow/outflow and service outcomes to track progress.

Ending note City and county presenters repeatedly emphasized that homelessness is a regional problem requiring partnerships. Armstrong urged continued cross‑jurisdictional coordination and funding alignment while noting the county’s supportive housing system is increasing shelter and permanent housing capacity, but that inflow remains a major challenge.