By Ryan Teoh
Under Project Homekey, a program started recently by California Governor Gavin Newsom to combat homelessness during COVID-19, Santa Clara County is planning to convert the Milpitas Extended Stay America hotel (Hillview) into housing for homeless people at high risk for or impacted by COVID-19, according to an article by the Milpitas Beat. Milpitas residents have protested against the project, according to the Mercury News.
Despite the conversion being funded by the state, at the Oct. 6 Milpitas City Council meeting, Milpitas Mayor Rich Tran and Milpitas City Council unanimously agreed to consider suing the county and any other organizations involved in the project, according to an article in the Mercury News. At the meeting, Tran cited lack of community involvement and due process driven by California Assembly Bill 83, which allows county and higher authorities to push through projects and legislation without the need for city level consent, according to the Milpitas Beat.
“What could we do if we partnered with a developer to put in student housing that was subsidized for some of those houseless homeless students so they could get their first two years of college free?” Vice Mayor Bob Nuñez said in a Zoom interview.
Projects like the one at the Extended Stay America could be beneficial to homeless MUSD students, Nuñez said. There are two other sites around the city that may be used for homeless housing projects like the Extended Stay hotel, Nuñez added.
“What we are going to do is work with the county to look at the programs that will be at the facility, and look at the use of that facility for Milpitas families that find themselves homeless and/or houseless, and we are also looking to hopefully partner with MUSD because they have identified those families that are houseless,” Nuñez said.
When asked about pursuit of litigation against the state, Nuñez said the City Council would not continue their potential lawsuit, and they would try to work with the county to resolve the issue. The Milpitas City Council voted on Wednesday, Nov. 4 to stop the lawsuit against the state, according to the Mercury News. As of now, the only legal action is from a private lawsuit raised by residents of Milpitas, and a GoFundMe in the works trying to raise money for that, according to KPIX 5.
“It’s good for the people. They don’t have any place to live, and they can’t afford to pay rent, and that’s why they become homeless,” Milpitas Extended Stay America employee Bryan Henderson said.
Low-income and homeless people sometimes rent at the hotel, as they like to live there as opposed to apartments due to the lower cost, Henderson added. Many of the people who live at the hotel have moved out and changed locations to different Extended Stay hotels after hearing about the hotel conversion project, Henderson continued.
“I’m totally against it. First of all, they spent too much money on this housing. Each unit is over $1.2 million, and only 300 square feet, so this is a ridiculous cost to benefit the homeless, and the money could be spent to do something better and benefit more homeless people, ” Milpitas Resident William Lam said.
Many homeless people might have mental health and drug issues, and he is not sure if they might engage in activities such as drug trafficking that could pose a risk to the community, Lam said. Mobile homes are a much better solution, as they are much bigger and cheaper to make, Lam added. He was also in favor of Mayor Tran suing the county, Lam said. Milpitas residents did not get a chance to raise their voices, which is not the way a democratic society works, Lam added. It seemed like the decision to convert the hotel was done behind closed doors with some other unknown officials, Lam said.
“They’re housing the homeless currently, under Project Roomkey. But these people keep saying they’re mentally ill, they’re going to bring crime,” MHS Physics Teacher Charles Schletzbaum said in a Zoom interview.
While it may not be the best option, there is no better option at the moment, and the millions of dollars of funding provided by Santa Clara County will go away in December, since it came from the CARES Act, so the city needs to act now, Schletzbaum added. The city has had many opportunities in the past to help the homeless, Schletzbaum said. Under this council, nothing will get done, and this is the easiest and best course of action given the circumstances, Schletzbaum said.
“How did they choose [the Extended Stay hotel]?” Milpitas Resident Ron Meadows said. “Santa Clara is a big county. There are a lot of suites that have a similar configuration. I would imagine over 15 to 20. Why was that one picked?”
Milpitas residents were not consulted, and data should be provided to prove that the spot they chose was the best option, Meadows said. If the county can provide sufficient data and statistics such as impact to the neighborhood and services provided to the homeless to back up their choice of that hotel, he would be for the project, Meadows added. Milpitas already provides many of the services for Santa Clara County, such as the sewer and the landfill, so other cities should carry some of the burden, and there are plenty of places where the homeless could be served properly which are not near residential property, Meadows added. From a financial standpoint, the city would be losing tax money by converting the hotel, as almost 20% of the rate charged nightly in Milpitas hotels is taxed, Meadows said. From his viewpoint, the county, using the pandemic and money given by the state, saw an opportunity and just pushed the project through, Meadows said.
“I think it’s a legitimate concern, but [the homeless are] going to be there anyways. We might as well have a home for them,” Milpitas Resident Diane Farley said. There will be a social benefit for the community, such as community service opportunities for high school students, Farley added. As long as there are safeguards and criteria to make sure that certain homeless people, like those who deal drugs, do not stay there, she is fine with it, Farley said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has really hit everyone hard, especially the homeless, and the project is beneficial to the community, MHS Student Makaila Agojo said. The only problem is that Milpitas residents did not get to voice their concerns before the project was approved, but suing the state is too far, Agojo added.