A new tiny home project is coming to Florin, but neighbors there may be right to be upset
In his opening remarks on the proposal of a new tiny home village to house homeless people in Florin on Wednesday, Supervisor Patrick Kennedy uttered six words that would be seized upon by both sides of the debate: “We all need to make sacrifices.”
He’s right. Solutions to homelessness in Sacramento will take sacrifices from all of us. In February, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors declared a shelter crisis and authorized the adoption of appendices to the county building code that allows for “non-traditional” housing under a new program called “Stay Safe Communities.”
The first project in this program will open in November, after county approval on Wednesday, with up to 100 tiny homes for 125 formerly homeless people at a vacant lot in South Sacramento, on the southeast corner of Power Inn and Florin roads, where a grocery store previously stood. The Florin residents living in this diverse, low-income, immigrant neighborhood will live with the impact of this project, after receiving little consultation for what amounts to a social experiment by the county board, without clear metrics for how success will be defined.
It will operate as a low-barrier shelter, meaning there will be fewer requirements for housing than there might normally be, such as drug tests required for entry. There will be a no-drugs-on-campus policy.
The “three Ps” — partners, pets and personal belongings — will be accommodated whenever possible. No registered sex offenders or convicted violent felons will be allowed residency. The lot will be fenced, loitering outside that fence will not be allowed, and mental health and security personnel will be present to provide assistance.
A seven-foot perimeter fence will be constructed at the site. There will be on-site shower and restroom facilities, and a security office located at the access gate is charged with controlling vehicular and foot traffic at the entrance to the tiny homes.
It could be a fantastic project, and it’s gratifying that county supervisors are finally creating housing capacity for the tens of thousands of people living homeless on our streets. California’s Housing First policy promises to bring stability to our ever-increasing homeless population, leading to better mental health, physical care, job opportunities and responsibility. Residents of permanent supportive housing report a one-year housing retention rate of up to 98%, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
And as multiple people who spoke to the board said, “If not here, then where? If not now, then when?”
This project was initially delayed in April when some supervisors balked at approving it, citing the need for more time and debate. Supervisor Phil Serna, whose district borders the project, stalled for weeks, delaying move-in dates until well past the hottest days of summer when these homes would be most needed.
By the time it came back up for approval, more than 30 people from the nearby Vietnamese Martyr Church attended the meeting to express their concern about the project’s proximity to their place of worship and daycare center.
In this community, almost 20% of residents live below the poverty line, compared to 13% of residents statewide, according to census figures. More than 50% of Florin-area residents speak a language other than English at home. Communities such as these deserve a chance to be heard.
“The trust has been broken,” said parishioner Thao Dinh. “There has been no community outreach. Not once have we been approached.”
Yes, there was plenty of fear-mongering rhetoric and stereotypical NIMBY arguments to go around, but many community members from this neighborhood were present in the board chambers, representing immigrant and disenfranchised communities that lack the political influence to stop a project like this.
Neighborhoods like Florin lack investment and have an abundance of vacant plots of land that are large enough to accommodate social services — and now, a homeless shelter.
Well-heeled neighborhoods in Sacramento, such as Land Park, on the other side of Kennedy’s district, don’t have to share their burden of housing the homeless, in part because they don’t live in communities with large vacant lots. The well-heeled also have the political power to oppose projects they don’t want, but the residents in Florin do not.
It’s an extremely complicated subject, and we do everyone involved a disservice when we pretend it’s not.
In the end, the one vote that might have killed the project — Serna — threw his lot in with fellow supervisors Kennedy and Rich Desmond, only voting yes under the promise of strict oversight and a further list of “good neighbor policies” that would assuage some of the concerns voiced by community members.
The way Serna initially stalled a vote caused serious concern that the project could blow up before it ever got off the ground. But perhaps he had a point: This project must be done right from the start if we’re hoping to see it replicated in other parts of the county.
And Sacramento County desperately needs this project to be a success. We all do.
