At first glance, it sounds kind of far-fetched–housing for the homeless near schools?

It’s an idea that could work, says one South Bay official.

Santa Clara County wants to partner with school districts to look into whether underused school district property might somehow be converted into affordable housing for teachers and some members of the homeless community at the same time.

Estimates vary, but with as many as 7,000 homeless people on the streets of Santa Clara County on any given day, an idea that just gained some traction would be to build permanent, affordable housing on county-owned, school district property.

“They have a need for teacher and staff housing, and we have funding for foster homeless housing and we are looking to see whether it’s possible to create a partnership to see if it’s possible to get both workforce housing and housing for populations in need on school district property,” Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said.

East Side Union, San Jose Unified, and 31 other school districts and in the county are home to hundreds of vacant lots and other underused resources that might be tapped for housing. 

“School districts have properties where they used to be a school and don’t any longer, and we are trying to think how to creatively use those assets…,” Chavez said.

The board voted unanimously Tuesday to reach out to school districts with an offer of funding to pay for asset evaluation and feasibility studies that would address cost, zoning, and potential conflicts arising from housing the homeless near schools.

“What we are really talking about is how do we share assets and put people together in a way that’s cost-effective for everybody and meets our broader community needs of getting housing,” Chavez said.

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