Opinion: I got an up-close view of how one city struggled to address homelessness

Editor’s Note: This article was written for Mosaic Vision, an independent journalism training program for high school students who report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.

When the city of Santa Clara proposed its plan to build interim housing for unhoused people at Benton Street and Lawrence Expressway, I saw it as a major step toward combating homelessness in our county.

But while the city and its partner, Santa Clara County, touted the move as a possible solution, many neighbors had significant objections to the plan.

Throughout five months of community review, opponents assailed what they saw as poor planning and later expressed concerns over costs. Neighbors seized on those arguments and their objections prolonged the process —leaving people unsheltered.

As an average student rarely involved in local politics, I was first intrigued by the shelter’s proposal but was caught off guard by the growing anger expressed at each meeting. At one point, I understood the points the opposition was making, but was tired with the bitter emotions in the room.

Most important, I found how hard it was for government projects to move forward. Given the progressive politics of California and Silicon Valley, I assumed that residents would welcome homeless shelters.

Unfortunately, that was not the case, and it surprised me how hard core the opposition appeared. Nothing could satisfy their demands other than killing the project at that location.

The prevailing issue I saw at each meeting was the amount of emotion flowing among the opposition. Parents and elderly people turned out at the meetings. Many were only acting in the best interests of themselves or their children, and rightfully so. Emotion overcame logic, and with the number of people growing, emotion inevitably drew the movement forward.

Many decried the project as a crime generator that would decrease property values and threaten children’s safety. In response, the city and county scaled back the project from a 124-unit shelter for adults to a 30-unit family-oriented project.

Finally, after six meetings and five months of planning, the city council voted to approve the project, despite continued heavy neighborhood opposition.

Why?

Many had pressed the city to do something to alleviate the crisis in homelessness. Two years earlier, a similar project called White Oak Lane failed to win approval. Santa Clara now projects an $8 million shortfall this fiscal year, but the Benton-Lawrence project already had partners offering partial funding.

When I attended the first meeting, planners could not answer many questions the audience posed, including how many schools were in the area of the proposed shelter. At later meetings, I saw that the county’s maps of schools missed one elementary and one private school. Those discrepancies angered people and strengthened the opposition, resulting in competing maps showing various t features.

The city’s awkward digital setup of its public hearings also limited questions and answers.

Not all neighbors were dead set against the project. Resident Pat Wall said she had been open to changing her mind. But the city’s revised proposal raised new worries about costs and the adequacy of its research.

Now, although she likes the small project better, “the money doesn’t sound right,” she said. “I don’t think the project is well thought out, they don’t have the answers.”

The city and county took the right step to try to address homelessness. Downsizing it was a wise response. I believe that Santa Clara did listen to financial concerns voiced by the opposition when the city limited its participation to $7 million in operating expenses for seven years.

But this project houses fewer homeless people. If we reject these projects in our neighborhoods, then where will unhoused people go?

We must start somewhere to deal with this crisis, and there is no perfect plan that appeases all. I think Santa Clara made a good faith effort, heard neighbors’ concerns and still succeeded in a significant way. Both housing proponents and neighbors walked away with some loss, but both won, too.

Theodore Nguyen is a rising junior at Santa Clara High School. He wrote this article for Mosaic Vision, an independent journalism training program.