The San Jose City Council in Northern California approved a Columbus Park revitalization plan on April 15 that will transform the 9.4-acre park into a neighborhood sports park.
The park is currently closed, with dozens of RVs scattered across the grounds. In a speech announcing the plan at Columbus Park, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan called it one of the largest homeless encampments San Jose has seen since the “Jungle” along Coyote Creek, which closed in 2014.
“What you see behind me across the street here is a failure of government,” Mahan said on April 15. “This is supposed to be a public park, a shared space for families, kids, and seniors, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at it today.”…