Proposal to build 100 tiny homes for homeless in south Sacramento up for a vote this week
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday is scheduled to reconsider a proposal to open a homeless tiny home village in south Sacramento.
The board in April voted to delay consideration of the project, which would be a first-of-its kind for the county. It would include 100 tiny homes on a vacant lot at Florin and Power Inn roads, serving up to 125 people, including services. It would cost about $7.7 million to build and run for two years.
Supervisor Patrick Kennedy, who represents the area, was the only vote in favor of moving forward with the project in April.
“Homelessness is the greatest humanitarian crisis facing our community and as elected leaders, we have to make tough decisions for the betterment of our community,” Kennedy said. “I truly believe this is going to be positive in two respects. It gets people out of parks, neighborhoods and business districts and gets them help and services. Also from a humanitarian perspective, people shouldn’t live on the streets. So I think it’s the right thing to do.”
The project would be built at the site of a former grocery store, which already has a 3.5-acre pad and access to utilities. It “checks a lot of boxes,” Kennedy said.
Several community meetings have been held about the project. Some of its neighbors raised questions about the proposal in April. Kennedy said there has not been a large amount of community push back since then.
Still, it’s unclear if it will have the three votes needed this time to pass.
If the board approves the project, it could open in late November, staff said previously.
City and county leaders are under mounting pressure to address the worsening homeless crisis.
A recent estimate from Sacramento Steps Forward found 16,500 to 20,000 people likely experience homelessness throughout the course of the year in the county. The official number from the federally-mandated Point in Time count is due out in coming weeks.
A measure will be on the November city ballot to require the city open shelter beds and spaces for at least 60% of its homeless population, using the new Point in Time numbers. Kennedy plans this summer to bring a similar measure to the board to either adopt as an ordinance or place on the ballot, he said.
The city of Sacramento has opened about 1,100 homeless shelter beds and spaces in recent years, but they are all full on any given night.
