These 5 sites will host the first of Sacramento’s new homeless shelters and tiny homes
The first five of Sacramento’s 20 new sites for homeless shelters, tiny homes and sanctioned encampments will be located in North Sacramento.
▪ The site set to open first, in about three months, is located at the corner of Eleanor and Traction avenues on the border of Old North Sacramento and South Hagginwood. The city plans to place 26 tiny homes on the city-owned site — more than double the number that was in the siting plan the City Council approved last week, Ryan Moore, public works director, told the council Tuesday. The tiny homes will be specifically for veterans, the plan indicates.
▪ Next, in about three and a half months, a facility will open at the end of Rosin Court in Northgate. The city plans to open a safe parking lot for 100 cars at that location, for up to 120 people to sleep in their vehicles. Reclamation District 1000 owns the site and has expressed interest in leasing it to the city, Moore said.
▪ The site set to open third, in about six months, is located at the corner of Colfax Street and Arden Way in Old North Sacramento. The city owns the lot, but it used to be a fleet maintenance facility, so the soil may need to be cleaned, Moore said. The city plans to place 25 tiny homes there for up to 75 people, including families, according to the siting plan.
▪ A fourth site is expected to open in spring 2022 at Larchwood Drive and Patio Avenue in Northgate. The city plans to place modular housing units on the city-owned site for 15 hospice beds.
▪ The site set to open fifth, in spring or summer 2022, is located at Lexington Street and Dixieanne Avenue in Old North Sacramento. The city plans to open 50 tiny homes for 100 people on the city-owned lot, according to the siting plan.
Capacity is being doubled, from 100 to 200 beds, at a current shelter on North Fifth Street in the River District in the coming weeks, said Bridgette Dean, director of the city’s department of community response.
Councilman Eric Guerra pointed out that all the first sites were in North Sacramento — either in City Council District 2 or District 3. He said he wanted a site in his southeastern Sacramento district to be added to the list of sites to open first.
“A lot of this is all in the north area,” Guerra said. “We need to have some diversity through the city because that has been an issue as well.”
City Manager Howard Chan replied: “We’re looking at it purely from a readiness perspective.”
The idea behind the homeless shelter siting plan, proposed by Mayor Darrell Steinberg, was to approve many sites at once to put less attention on individual sites, which are often killed by neighborhood opposition.
Chan asked council members if they wanted Safe Grounds — sanctioned tent encampments with bathrooms, showers, services and security — to open on the sites while the city waits for the tiny homes to arrive.
Councilman Jeff Harris, who represents East Sacramento and North Sacramento, said yes.
“On sites we have control, my direction to staff is move full steam ahead on stabilizing as many people as we can as quickly as we can,” Harris said.
Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela, who represents midtown, downtown and Land Park, and already has Safe Ground and safe parking in her district, agreed.
But not all members were on board with the idea.
“That’s not what I told the community and that’s not what the community agreed on,” said Councilman Sean Loloee, who represents North Sacramento.
Map: Nathaniel Levine • Source: City of Sacramento
