San Jose has narrowed the list of possible tiny home locations to house several dozen of the city’s homeless residents down to three spots.

The latest development comes amid intense reaction from some residents who don’t want the homes to be too close to residential areas or schools, and from homeless advocates who want the city to do more to house the city’s 4,000 or so homeless people.

“This will increase neighborhood crime, blight, poor sanitation and threatens safety and health,” worried Sue Halloway, a retired government worker who bought a home in south San Jose 40 years ago, when the city first voted to build tiny homes.

One of the options for the tiny homes pilot project is a 2-acre Caltrans-owned site just southwest of the overpass connecting highways 280, 680 and 101. Until recently, the area housed one of the city’s largest homeless encampments. But Caltrans crews cleared out the 70 or so residents in an early February sweep.

The other two options are a 1.33-acre plot in a VTA construction staging area along Mabury Road near Coyote Creek, and a 7-acre property owned by the city just east of Hellyer Avenue and north of Silicon Valley Road.

Each site will now undergo an environmental review and officials will hold meetings near each spot to get feedback from local residents and business owners, said Jacky Morales-Ferrand, director of the Housing Department. The department will make a final recommendation to the City Council this summer and the tiny homes could be assembled and ready to house people by the end of the year, Morales-Ferrand said.

Exactly how many homes are built will depend ultimately on what the council decides, but there will likely be 20-40 homes, each capable of housing one or two people. The cost of each tiny home is estimated to be between $18,000-20,000.

Oakland has moved some people into shed-like shelters that might offer a less-expensive option, but San Jose city officials have said utility sheds don’t provide basic needs such as heat, ventilation and fire safety protections.

The Housing Department selected these three sites from more than 100 options, Morales-Ferrand said, based in part on how far they are from residential areas and how easy it would be to access utilities. While she acknowledges there are other ways — shelters, for instance — to house more homeless people, the project that could be scaled if it goes well.

In September 2016, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law that lets cities create what are officially known as “Bridge Housing Communities” for homeless residents. The legislation sunsets in 2022, but could be extended.

Tiny home residents haven’t been selected yet, but working homeless adults or adults with a work history will be prioritized. Residents will be required to have or create a housing plan for once they exit the tiny homes.

The city isn’t the first to build tiny homes. Austin, Texas and Portland and Eugene, Oregon have created micro-housing to shelter people. Fresno has a micro-housing area called Village of Hope.

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“We look forward to meeting with the community where these sites are located,” Morales-Ferrand said.

The three public meetings will take place:

District 7 – 2/22 – 6-7:30 p.m. – Leininger Community Center

District 3 – 2/26 – 6-7:30 p.m. – Environmental Innovation Center

District 2 – 3/1 – 6:30-7:30 p.m. – Wyndham Hotel, Silicon Valley Blvd.