Sacramento is planning 8 new homeless sites. How long until they’re open?
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- River District safe camping will open first, hosting 100 tents and services.
- Sacramento plans eight new shelter sites to add about 1,000 beds citywide.
- City advances four tiny home sites; safe parking requires lease and federal approval.
Last month, Sacramento announced plans to roughly double the number of available shelter beds in the city.
The announcement was made at a homelessness meeting, where city leaders unveiled the latest strategies to address the issue. Among them were eight new sites scattered across the city.
If all opened, the locations would offer about 1,000 more beds to the city’s homeless population. As of this year, Sacramento provides 18 sites with 1,375 shelter beds.
“I’m really proud that that city, Sacramento, is answering the call, in an era literally where we’re facing less money from the federal government, less money from the state governments and less money from the city coffers,” said Mayor Kevin McCarty at the Sept. 16 council meeting.
However, whether and when all eight locations will open remain a key question. In some cases, new homeless shelter sites take years to open. The Sacramento City Council also has a history of discussing site locations that never come to fruition.
In January 2018, according to prior reporting from The Sacramento Bee, then-Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced that he wanted to city to build 1,000 tiny homes. Currently, the city offers 111 tiny homes units in two shelters.
“We do have a tradition of making bold plans for 10-20, sites and then, for various bureaucratic reasons, these things don’t actually happen,” said Arturo Baiocchi, a professor of social work at Sacramento State.
“I would be surprised if they opened up two (sites) in the next couple years, but I don’t see them really opening up eight,” Baiocchi added.
Here is what we know about the status of the eight potential sites.
River District safe camping site
The safe camping site — located at 291 Sequoia Blvd. in the River District — will be the first of the eight potential sites to open, according to the city estimates. The location will offer a temporary space for 100 people to legally camp.
Tents, which will be provided by the city, will be protected by shipping containers anchored to the ground. Services offered will include a scheduled shower trailer, restrooms, trash collection and 24-hour security.
The city will be in charge of the safe camping site, unlike Camp Resolution, which was a homeless camp self-governed by residents and shut down last year. City leaders, including McCarty, have since called Camp Resolution a failure.
On Thursday, City spokesperson Julie Hall said the city anticipated a spring 2026 opening date.
Tiny homes sites
Tiny homes are expected to be a key piece of Sacramento approach’s to dealing with homelessness moving forward. The city is projected to add 135 miniature dwellings to its existing Roseville Road location later this year.
But at last month’s council meeting, city leaders touted four new tiny home sites. These locations, called micro-communities, are planned on vacant lots across the city and will be designated for homeless seniors at a monthly fee.
Each micro-community will offer roughly 40 tiny homes of 120 square feet with shared bathrooms, showers, laundry and cooking facilities. People living in these units will be required to pay no more than 30% of their gross monthly income after an initial grace period of 90 days. Community rules would include pet limits, no overnight guests, bag checks and daytime visiting hours.
The sites will be at 3511 Arena Blvd. in Sundance Lake, 6360 25th St. near the Sacramento Executive Airport and 2461 Gardendale Road in Meadowview. A fourth micro-community site is being reviewed in District 7.
Hall said the city expects each site to take approximately one year to complete. The tiny homes will be provided by the Los Angeles-based company Boss Homes.
Safe parking site
Questions remain about the city’s proposed safe parking site at the Franklin Light Rail Station, located at 4801 Consumes River Blvd.
Per its proposal, the city would use about 20% of the railstation’s parking spaces to house 60 to 80 registered vehicles. The site would also offer 24-hour security, portable restrooms and showers.
Hall said the city is “currently reviewing a draft lease” from the Sacramento Regional Transit District to use the site. The city will present an updated proposal to the SacRT Board for approval after the review is completed.
At a July 28 SacRT meeting, Chris Flores, chief of staff and real estate for the agency, noted that the city has pursued safe parking sites in the past. The board has granted approval, though the locations did not materialize.
A potential new challenge for the latest site may come from the federal administration, which must approve usage. In July, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that seeks to overhaul the way the U.S. manages homelessness.
“While the FTA (Federal Transit Administration) was quick to grant concurrence to Roseville Road three years ago, this is a different administration,” Flores said at the July 28 meeting.
Permanent supportive housing
Two tiny home villages of permanent housing are among the potential eight sites. These sites would be located at 2809 Rio Linda Boulevard in North Sacramento and 4290 Mack Road, on the border of the Parkway and Valley Hi/North Laguna neighborhoods.
Each location would serve about 100 homeless households and offer a community garden, parking, laundry facilities and private office spaces. Tenants would pay about 30% of their income toward rent. The units would also be produced Boss Homes.
Both sites are entirely dependent on $35 million in funding from the state’s Project HomeKey initiative. If funding is approved, Hall said the city expects construction for the sites to take 18 months.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development has awarded about $284 million thus far. Pablo Espinoza, deputy director of communications for HCD, said on Friday the agency anticipates additional award announcements monthly until the funding is expended.
This story was originally published October 7, 2025 at 2:49 PM.
