What you need to know
- A homeless encampment is reportedly growing on undeveloped land owned by Apple in North San Jose.
- A new report says anywhere from 30 to 100 people are living on the 55-acre site.
- Apple has reportedly been in talks to "find a solution".
A new report states that a homeless encampment is growing on undeveloped land owned by Apple in North San Jose.
The issue was first reported by CBS San Francisco last week, noting that a very large encampment at the nearby Mineta San Jose airport was under threat, causing some of its residents to migrate to a larger site owned by Apple nearby:
With less than four weeks to go before the City of San Jose must submit its plans to remove hundreds of homeless encampments near Mineta San Jose Airport, some of the airport inhabitants have begun moving to an even larger site nearby, owned by Apple.
That report says "at least 30 people" were living at the Apple encampment "with sprawling amounts of trash, debris, RVs, tents, and vehicles."
A more recent report from VICE has now provided some more detail:
Anywhere from 30 to 100 homeless people have coalesced on the property owned by the iPhone-maker in North San Jose, according to local sources and residents. The area covers about 55 acres, KPIX, a local CBS affiliate, reported. Some current residents of the site, which has grown in population over the past several months, say they can be left alone there, despite its proximity to PayPal's corporate headquarters and other office buildings.
One resident, who has lived on the site in an RV for nearly two years said that the area was "secluded from the city", but that residents aren't bothered by Apple:
"I'm grateful that they don't kick us out," Corona added. "I just want to say thank you. They don't bother us."
According to VICE, city officials are trying to schedule a meeting with Apple to discuss the site, and Apple reportedly confirmed it had "been in talks with the city to find a solution."
San Jose City Council member David Cohen said the meeting would discuss "what we might be able to do to help the people who are living there and to figure out some plan for offering services", Cohen said he thought Apple would be "cooperative" and wants the location to become a temporary site to house the people.
The news comes as Apple announced that it has just hit the $1 billion milestone as part of its $2.5 billion California housing commitment. Apple says it has helped build over 1,100 new affordable homes and provided financial assistance to more than 15,000 families in 25 California counties. You can read the full report here.
iMore has reached out to Apple for comment on this story.
