City Council to Vote on Homeless Plan

A growing number of homeless camp sites have been established along the new, multiuse Centene trail in Natomas. / NatomasBuzz.com Photo

BY BRANDY TUZON BOYD
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

The Sacramento City Council is set to discuss and vote whether to approve the city’s first Homeless Master Siting Plan during a special meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. today.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg last week released the 75-page document saying that once approved, all sites in the plan can move forward and be implemented by city staff.

“We can no longer approve one site at a time,” Steinberg said during a press conference.

In January 2021, the mayor called on the eight sitting city councilmembers to commit to a master siting plan.

The 20 priority sites identified in the plan up for approval today could provide housing options for more than 3,600 people in a year.

The locations laid out in the plan include a combination of housing solutions such as safe ground camp sites, tiny homes and shelters. Most of the sites are publicly-owned properties.

Here’s a look at Natomas sites identified in the plan:

• District 1 – Although no priority sites are listed in North Natomas, Mayor Pro Tem Angelique Ashby confirmed one of two hotel conversions in final negotiations is located within her council district. The 110-unit unidentified residential hotel has bedrooms, kitchens and will be used to provide shelter and wraparound services for women with children and families, Ashby said. Ashby’s plans to shelter women, children and families in scatter site housing and LBGTQ youth through host families, are also noted. Ashby represents North Natomas on the city council. (Watch Ashby’s presentation from May 18, 2021)
• District 3 – In early 2020, Councilmember Jeff Harris proposed a shelter for women and children on city-owned property located at Northgate Boulevard and Patio Avenue. That plan was scrapped after Twin Rivers Unified School District officials publicly withdrew support for the plan during a community town hall meeting. The master siting plan instead identifies a smaller portion of that property for Joshua’s House Hospice, a residential facility which would house and provide end-of-life care for up to 15 terminally ill homeless individuals. The plan also includes a safe ground and parking for up to 120 people on 1.68-acre parcel at the end of Rosin Court which is owned by Reclamation District 1000. But according to RD-1000 officials, that site will not be available before the end of 2021 and perhaps longer depending on levee improvement project work currently under way at that location. Outside of Natomas, District 3 plans include expanding capacity at the North 5th Street Shelter and a hotel conversion currently being negotiated. Harris represents Gardenland, Northgate, most of South Natomas and other neighborhoods including East Sacramento. (Watch Harris’s presentation from May 11, 2021)
• District 4 – Councilmember Katie Valenzuela had proposed a tiny home village for large, vacant lots located south of West El Camino off Gateway Oak Boulevard. But the property went into contract for sale shortly after she presented that proposal, Valenzuela told The Natomas Buzz. District 4 sites in the plan are located in the central city which Valenzuela represents along with Land Park and the River Oaks neighborhood in Natomas. (Watch Valenzuela’s presentation from April 20, 2021)

“The council has shown great leadership, all of my colleagues, in going out to their community, holding meetings, identifying sites and bringing forward those sites so that we could compile them citywide, put them in a single report, a single plan, a single resolution, and take one vote,” Steinberg said. “Once that vote is taken, all of the sites in the plan are deemed approved.”

To watch the meeting live go to city of Sacramento’s website here.

This city-owned parcel at Northgate Boulevard and Patio Avenue has been identified as the site for Joshua’s House Hospice. / NatomasBuzz.com Photo

The master siting plan identifies this publicly-owned parcel at the end of Rosin Court, but officials say it will not be available for use at a safe camp ground for months. / NatomasBuzz.com Photo

Priority sites to house the unsheltered are mapped by city council district. / Source: 2021 Master Siting Plan to Address Homelessness