The Federal Aviation Administration has asked the city of San Jose to clean up the massive homeless encampment surrounding Mineta San Jose International Airport.
As of Wednesday, the city has given residents 72 hours notice before the clean up will begin.
According to reporting by KPIX, the site has been referred to as ‘The Crash Zone’ and is yet another homeless encampment that has swelled during the last year and a half of the pandemic.
The mile-long camp is located directly under a landing path to the airport, catching the attention of the FAA. Whenever a private jet comes in for a landing, the aircraft hovers momentarily above the encampment dwellers.
On May 17 the agency wrote to city officials saying, "Please provide … a revised plan that will result in the City taking a more immediately active role in relocating the homeless. It is not FAA’s intent to show disregard for the homelessness crisis, only to ensure that use of Airport property does not become the solution to the crisis."
Neil Rufino, the assistant director of San Jose Parks, Recreation, & Neighborhood Services, said the homeless residents will not be forced to leave, for now.
According to Rufino, officials are aware the camp is not sustainable, but the city doesn’t currently have enough housing alternatives. "So, we have to figure out how to allow that space to be manageable, in a sense, if there are people living in that space now, can we keep it clean enough," he said.
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