Neighbors - As some of you know from the letter we recently received, Santa Cruz County and Supervisor Leopold are moving to install a homeless camp at the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) campground (1931 Old San Jose Rd, Soquel, CA 95073). The County's plan is to implement a two-phased approach to homeless services at the SDA campground, under COVID19 shelter-in-place rules, with an "option to extend temporary housing programs" at the site with no end date on Leopold's proposal to extend homeless services at the SDA camp in the future.
Phase 1: Begin in early May
Installation of 15-35 trailers at the SDA campground for people experiencing homeless (40-60 people)
Phase 2: Late May
Up to 90 people residing in SDA's 20-40 onsite cabins
For neighborhood input, Mr. Leopold has scheduled a telephonic meeting for Monday, 5/11 at 6:00 p.m. at 831-454-2222, access code 855976.
As a resident on Old San Jose Road, with children attending schools within walking distance, we have many concerns with this proposal (that is being revisited after hundreds of us raised our local voices in opposition in a petition to install a homeless camp in 2018).
The same concerns are just as valid, including:
* SAFETY with high-speed commuters, 2 schools and the extremely popular Anna Jean Cummings Park nearby, creek access to a lot of our properties, trail access behind SDA, proposed 'security' on several acres, the statistics on both mentally ill homeless people in our community (estimated 70-80%) and drug usage/hepatitis A prevalence and WILDFIRES as both the SDA and our nearby residences are deemed a SEVERE WILDFIRE ZONE per PGE. The current California state statistic on homeless encampment fires is 2-3/day.
Please join us in voicing our concerns and opposition to this proposal by Supervisor Leopold and the County, in KIND RESPECT to the SDA who have been good neighbors to us all in the past. You may contact the CCC President for SDA @ rcano@cccsda.org
