These tiny homes were going to help solve Sacramento’s homeless crisis. So where are they?

In January 2018, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced during his State of the Downtown address that he wanted the city to build 1,000 tiny homes – small structures used by cities around the country to shelter homeless individuals. This summer, Steinberg called for the city to buy 500 tiny homes to place temporary “Safe Ground” encampments scattered across the city.

Nearly three years after that first call to action, there are few tiny homes being used by the city to shelter the homeless; there are, however, 10 structures the city received from a Seattle area-based company sitting unused in a city lot. And a proposed ordinance that would have allowed small shelters to be established in some parts of the city was abruptly pulled from this week’s City Council agenda.

The ordinance also would have allowed the city to start opening long-discussed “safe parking lots” for up to 24 homeless people to sleep in their vehicles or tents.

But late Monday afternoon, Steinberg announced on Twitter that the item would be pulled from the agenda and delayed “a few weeks.”

It’s unclear what caused the item to mysteriously be pulled. Steinberg’s tweet said more input from the community was needed.

“The temporary shelter, encampment and safe parking ordinance scheduled for (Tuesday’s) Council meeting will be continued for a few weeks to enable more dialogue with community stakeholders who have strong opinions on all sides,” the tweet read. “Not an indefinite delay, just a few weeks.”

City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby also raised concerns that a map city staff created of potential shelter sites featured some spots that were included by mistake.

The ordinance would have prohibited shelter sites within a half mile of temporary residential shelters, and 500 feet from schools, parks, museums and childcare centers. Ashby said the map was missing several of those facilities.

“The map as drawn is misleading and missing important information, like what currently occupies many of these spaces,” Ashby said. “The concept has merit and potential but is not fully formed, and as such will not produce a meaningful outcome without modifications.”

The current map appears to show the most properties in the districts represented by Councilman Allen Warren and Councilman Eric Guerra. Guerra said it will be important for the sites to be spread across the city.

“D2 and D6 have the most eligible land, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to disproportionately put them in North Sacramento or southeast Sacramento,” Guerra said. “There must be proportionality. It would be unfair for all projects to go into one area.”

Warren’s North Sacramento district is hosting a handful of tiny homes for homeless young people. North Sacramento has previously hosted a 200-bed homeless shelter in a warehouse off Railroad Drive and a Project Roomkey hotel that temporarily sheltered homeless during the coronavirus.

After reading the agenda item, homeless activists also raised concerns that the city shouldn’t bar tiny homes within half a mile of current shelters.

That requirement would make it “next to impossible” to find sites, said Bob Erlenbusch of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness. He also urged the city to offer funding to community organizations that open a site on private property.

“As winter rapidly approaches, we call on you to create safegrounds and safe parking programs in each of the city council districts and fund them to succeed,” Erlenbusch wrote in an email to the mayor and council members Monday.

Overnight temperatures in Sacramento this week are forecast to hit the low 40s. Shelters are typically full most nights. Sacramento has the highest percentage its homeless families sleeping outside of any large metropolitan area in the country, a report last year found.

More tiny homes could be on the way

Whatever form the ordinance takes once it does pass could be used to site many more tiny homes than the 10 that are sitting vacant.

Steinberg is still pushing for 500 tiny homes. If voters approve Measure A, the city’s so-called “strong mayor” measure, ordering them would be Steinberg’s first priority, he said.

“On the first day, I would purchase at least 500 of these efficiency housing units and begin actually deploying them,” Steinberg said.

City Councilman Jeff Harris, a strong opponent of Measure A, said the council could do that without strong mayor. The council has been generally supportive of tiny home projects, he pointed out.

“I don’t see any opposition to that on council,” Harris said.

Harris proposed a site last year off Northgate Boulevard for tiny homes for women and children, but it has not come to fruition.

Earlier this month, the “Yes on Measure A” campaign sent mailers making the case that if Sacramento had a “strong mayor” form of government like San Diego, it could also open larger shelters much faster. It pointed to a shelter in Meadowview that did not open for more than a year after the City Council approved it.

“Fourteen months to build a 100-bed womens’ shelter when you’ve got how many thousands on our streets? That’s not good enough,” Steinberg said. A January 2019 count estimated 5,570 homeless people are living in Sacramento County, mostly in the city.

Harris said there will always be a number of steps the city must take to open shelters, with or without a “strong mayor” form of government.

“There are legal issues, permitting issues, procurement,” Harris said. “A strong mayor can’t just circumvent all those.”

Regardless of what happens with Measure A, Councilman Steve Hansen is urging community groups to come forward with “Safe Ground” sites.

“I think its a great challenge to put out to the community,” Hansen said. “Who’s willing to accept a site? Who’s willing to work with us and the advocate community to do this well?”