A long-drawn-out struggle over a large RV homeless encampment in San Jose came to an end Wednesday.
For weeks, those who could move their vehicles one way or another had been reluctantly leaving the site on Ranch Drive, near the San Jose-Milpitas border. On Wednesday, the site was swept one final time.
Watch NBC Bay Area News free wherever you are
WATCH HEREThe sweep essentially put an end to a three and a half year fight between the homeless encampment and the city. For many of those who were forced to move, it was a bitter end.
"There was no plan for this camp," Unhoused Response Group founder Shaunn Cartwright said. "They were offered no resources, no housing, no safe parking, no car registration and no repairs on the vehicles. Just told to leave.”
The site was targeted for sweeps because the city said it wanted to open up for expansion by Microsoft.
As the last dismantled RV was taken away and crews left, Mayor Matt Mahan said the city has opened up many new sites for the unhoused population and said other cities and counties need to share the burden.
He called Wednesday's final sweep difficult but necessary.
Local
"There are often reasons that we have to do it, whether it’s for public safety, clearing public right of way, ensuring that a construction zone is safe in this case," he said.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news with the Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
SIGN UP 