Another tiny home shelter for homeless is moving forward in south Sacramento
Sacramento County is moving forward with a second tiny home shelter for homeless people, approving a plan this week that will provide dozens of units in a government-owned lot near Florin Road and Highway 99.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the proposal on Tuesday, six weeks after a similar project on Florin Road narrowly passed by a 3-2 vote after neighbors contested the plan.
Supervisors gave the go-ahead for the construction of 45 temporary cabins in a vacant lot on East Parkway, behind the Department of Health Services’ administrative offices.
The shelter has the capacity to take in 56 residents, and will feature bathrooms, storage and communal space as well as staff on site around-the-clock.
The board’s approval comes two weeks after a new report showed Sacramento County’s homeless population has nearly doubled since 2019, rising to about 9,200 unhoused people.
District 2 Supervisor Patrick Kennedy, who represents the area in which the new shelter will be constructed, advocated for the proposed shelter and said that it would provide needed relief for the surrounding community.
“I am thrilled to have a second location approved and ready to build in District 2,” Kennedy said in a statement following the meeting. “The need in our area is great. These new Safe Stay Communities will go a long way to help those in South Sacramento experiencing homelessness with stable shelter, drug and alcohol services, mental health services, job training, and a connection to other vital services that will lead to a healthy lifestyle and self-sufficiency while providing relief to the businesses and residents in the community that have experienced the impacts of homelessness.”
Quick consensus on tiny homes
The board first announced its Safe Stay Community program in the 2021-22 budget, setting aside millions of dollars to construct tiny home communities that can house 200 people. The communities are sanctioned encampments that are intended to allow unhoused people “to stay in a safer and more sanitary environment, without the risk of being arrested or cited,” according to a county document.
Supervisors Sue Frost and Don Nottoli voted against the first tiny home site last month, raising concerns about the location’s proximity to a church and daycare. Church-goers and others contested the proposal at a five-hour public hearing before the project gained the board’s approval.
The second site, by contrast, passed easily after a discussion that lasted under an hour, with few public comments.
Sacramento homeless shelters to open in 2023
Sacramento County Director of the Office of Homeless Initiatives Emily Halcon said she was “very pleased” to see the second site receive unanimous approval and more community support.
The board also allowed community members affected by the new site — either those living in the nearby neighborhood, or those working in the county building next to the site — to weigh in at multiple meetings in late June.
Kennedy said at the meeting that although there was apprehension at first, it was more a “fear of the unknown,” and people began to support the proposal as they heard more about it.
“There is a great deal of support for this,” Kennedy said. “There are those that are concerned, but at the end of the day, they said they understand they have to do something and they support it.”
During the meeting, Kennedy requested the formation of a community advisory council to continually weigh in on the shelter, composed of local residents, residents of the Safe Stay community, a county staff member and representatives from local businesses.
The shelter is expected to open in early 2023, on the same timeline as the Florin Road shelter. Both shelters are funded to last for two years, with the potential of being renewed.
This story was originally published July 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM.