Elk Grove moves ahead with homeless shelter location — here’s how leaders decided
Elk Grove’s first permanent homeless shelter is likely to be located at the intersection of Survey Road and East Stockton Boulevard after the City Council eliminated two other proposed sites during its meeting Wednesday.
City staff now have the green light to negotiate a purchase of the site, according to Sarah Bontrager, the city’s housing and public services manager, and a city council staff report. Staff will return to the council with a proposed acquisition agreement.
The site, which sits near the city limit’s southeast border, is expected to cost between $12 million and $14.5 million, including $750,000 to purchase the site, $1.7 million to $2 million in site development, $7.2 million to $8.5 million in “hard” construction costs and $2 million to $3 million in “soft” costs, such as fees, permits and insurance. The site spans approximately 1½ acres.
The shelter, just south of Grant Line Road, is expected to open in two years, according to Bontrager; the lease on the city’s temporary homeless shelter ends in October 2028. Bontrager said the construction timeline is “tight” and that the city must “move quickly.”
The two other proposed locations for the city’s permanent homeless shelter were along Dwight Road, north of Laguna Boulevard, and at 9296 E. Stockton Blvd.
The Dwight Road site, which contains multiple parcels that could be used for the shelter, was removed from consideration before public comment because of its proximity to sensitive uses such as homes, schools, parks and day care facilities, as well as community feedback. The decision was met with cheers from the chamber audience. That site would have cost approximately $12 million to $21 million.
The East Stockton Boulevard site, just south of Bond Road, was removed from consideration due to similar concerns after a motion was made to only consider the Survey Road site. A motion to rank the Survey Road site first and the East Stockton Boulevard site second failed after three council members voted against it. Councilmember Rod Brewer was the sole vote against the motion to only consider Survey Road site, which is in his district.
Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen commended residents for supporting a shelter in the city and said that an “us versus them” mentality regarding people experiencing homelessness is “disheartening.” She said she was only interested in one location based on its affordability and community feedback, which was the Survey Road site.
“When residents weigh in, I believe it’s our civic responsibility to listen,” Singh-Allen said. “If we demand of our staff to get feedback, and we get back feedback, and we ignore it, shame on us.”
Vice Mayor Darren Suen ranked the Survey Road site first and the East Stockton Boulevard site second — the Dwight Road site is located in his westside district. He noted that the area near the Survey Road site was continuing to develop and that more services and resources would be built nearby.
Brewer, who represents most of the city’s eastside, said his priority was to care for all residents in the city, saying the shelter would give people “a fighting chance” to get back on their feet and calling it a “refuge.” He ranked the East Stockton Boulevard site first because it was more accessible to services, and he ranked the Survey Road site second. He said the Dwight Road site was never an option for him.
“At the end of the day, we do have an ethical and moral obligation to care for one another,” Brewer said. “If you are in disagreement with that, I will be praying for you.”
Councilmember Kevin Spease ranked the Survey Road site as his first choice, based on community feedback, cost and safety, including fewer high-traffic roads for pedestrians, as many shelter guests walk or use public transit. He suggested providing transportation for shelter guests since the location is more removed from city services and businesses. He ranked the Dwight Road site second and the East Stockton Boulevard site, which is located in his district, third.
Councilmember Sergio Robles waited for the rest of the council to share its preferences before making a motion to only consider the Survey Road location — about a half mile east, across Highway 99, from Sky River Casino.
Residents respond to the homeless shelter sites
Residents spoke positively about the shelter’s goal to transition guests to permanent housing, compassion for people experiencing homelessness, support for families and children, its policy to only accept Elk Grove residents and its guidelines prohibiting drug and alcohol use.
Many residents also expressed support for the Survey Road site, as it is the farthest from residential neighborhoods.
Some residents near the East Stockton Boulevard site expressed concerns about its proximity to businesses and Ellen Feickert Elementary School, reports of crime and drug use in the area after the temporary shelter opened nearby at a building leased from Calvary Christian Center and an alleged lack of vetting of people who access the temporary shelter.
“I am not against the project. I’m just against the prioritization of the needs of 20 to 25 citizens over the needs of the community,” one resident, Melissa Stone, said.
Lorena Reilly, the general manager of the hotel TownePlace Suites by Marriott located adjacent to the proposed East Stockton Boulevard site, asked the city to conduct a comprehensive economic and operational impact study before moving forward.
“Facilities of this nature should be located where they can operate effectively without creating unintended impacts on surrounding businesses, employees and visitors,” Reilly said.
In the initial presentation, Bontrager stressed that the city would be supportive of businesses neighboring the site.
“The city is committed to working with the businesses in the surrounding area to look at how we can design the shelter buildings, how we can design that space to minimize impact and how we can be a good neighbor, including making sure that we’re responsive quickly to any problems that would arise,” Bontrager said.
The results of an online survey conducted by the city show that 42% of respondents, or 294 people, ranked the Survey Road site as their first choice for the shelter site; 30% of respondents, or 211 people, ranked the East Stockton Boulevard site as their first choice; 27% of those answered the survey, or 191 people, ranked Dwight Road as their first choice.
A separate survey conducted by the city asked residents to rank the priority of factors such as cost and feasibility of the shelter; appropriate distance from sensitive uses such as homes, schools, parks and day care facilities; proximity to supportive services and employment; access to transportation; and safety and security. Forty-six percent of the survey’s 655 respondents ranked “sensitive uses” as their first priority.
City staff and NJA Architecture, the architectural firm designing the shelter, analyzed each site’s advantages and disadvantages based on the community’s priorities.
What the new shelter will look like
The new shelter will be able to house up to 20 people and four families plus five emergency beds. Families will be housed separately from individuals, with separate entrances and common areas. Pets will be allowed at the shelter. The shelter will also have a commercial kitchen.
The shelter will be open only to Elk Grove residents or those with deep ties to the city, verified through a vetting process, and who receive referrals from the city’s homeless services navigators or police officers.
“This shelter project is going to solve Elk Grove’s needs,” Bontrager said at the council meeting. “It is not meant to solve the region’s needs. It’s not meant to solve Sacramento’s needs.”
The city will encourage guests to focus on “what’s next,” Bontrager said at a community meeting about the project on Jan. 21, including getting permanent housing, employment and other services like health care and mental health care. The shelter will help facilitate those connections, Bontrager said. The standard length a person is allowed to stay at the shelter is six months, but if the person is working toward housing or applications and needs more time, that can be extended, Bontrager said.
The shelter will provide three meals a day for guests, as well as snacks.
A minimum of three staff members will be onsite at all times. On-site cameras will be monitored by the Elk Grove Police Department, and there will be an overnight curfew for guests.
Registered sex offenders or people with serious behavioral health or substance abuse challenges would not be allowed at the shelter, and walk-ins would be prohibited. Weapons, drugs and alcohol would also be banned.
The space will also be “trauma-informed,” according to city officials and those with NJA Architecture. That includes outdoor spaces and natural light, and calming colors such as blues and greens inside with areas for quiet time.
The design of the shelter will also take place concurrently with the acquisition process.
The permanent shelter is expected to cost $1.5 million per year to maintain, according to the staff report.
The shelter would be funded primarily by Measure E, the one-cent sales tax overwhelmingly passed by Elk Grove voters in 2022, earmarked for issues identified as important by the community, including homelessness, reducing crime and maintaining traffic. The city said it would use additional local, state and federal funding when available to fund the site.
The new shelter does not yet have an operator. The city will begin the process of selecting one next year, Bontrager previously said during a community meeting.
What the current homeless shelter looks like
The current shelter is located at a building leased from Calvary Christian Center at 9499 E. Stockton Blvd. It can house up to 30 people consistently, for up to 180 days, plus five emergency short-term beds. Families experiencing homelessness are provided with a voucher to stay at a motel through a partnership with another nonprofit group, the Elk Grove Homeless Assistance Resource Team.
The temporary shelter has led to a 65% reduction in encampments, served 95 people and transitioned 14 households to permanent housing in its first year of operation, according to Bontrager and the city council staff report.
The 2024 Point-in-Time count of people experiencing homelessness in the county, performed by nonprofit group Sacramento Steps Forward, found 83 people in Elk Grove were unhoused. However, the city says that staff estimates that number to be closer to 100 to 150 people, based on information from the city’s homeless outreach team and the Police Department, claiming one of the lowest rates of homelessness in Sacramento County.
