SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — California’s homeless crisis can feel frustrating and heartbreaking, with meaningful solutions seeming few and far between. The most recent count shows more than 9,250 people are experiencing homelessness throughout Sacramento County.
Several ABC10 viewers asked why the site with 100 cabins at Florin and Power Inn isn’t operational yet. The cabins have been up for more than eight months but the site remains fenced off.
ABC10 asked Sacramento County for an update on this and several other sites that are supposed to become temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness.
The site at 8144 Florin Road is one of three ‘Safe Stay Community’ sites Sacramento County is working to open. This one will be able to provide temporary housing for up to 125 people at any one time – with 75 single-occupancy and 25 double-occupancy sleep cabins.
County spokesperson Janna Haynes said the site is expected to be open in June. Specifically, she said, the county’s “current plan to is turn over [the] Florin/Power Inn [site] to the operator in June.”
It was originally set to open in late summer 2022, but delayed approval by county supervisors – due to concerns some neighbors raised – pushed the opening back to Nov. 2022.
Come November, the site remained closed and Haynes said the revised opening date was late spring 2023 citing, “a number of delays due to material supply chain issues, contractor delays, and the overall change in design concept by our on-site operator, who has run successful programs just like this in other areas.”
The delays added about $500,000 in costs to the county to pay for security to monitor the site 24/7 as it sits unused, Haynes said.
“The site has experienced a series of delays at various stages of the project, due to issues such as difficulty in procuring materials, contractor retention, and necessary changes in the design of the facility,” Haynes told ABC10 this week.
The second Safe Stay site is at 7001 East Parkway, just about 2.5 miles west of the Florin Road site. It will be able to house as many as 55 people with 35 single-occupancy and 10 double-occupancy cabins.
The county hoped to open the site in early 2023, but on Wednesday, Haynes said the projected opening of the East Parkway site is now August.
The third Safe Stay site is at 4837 Watt Ave and is not as far along as the other two sites. In November, Sacramento County supervisors approved the funding to purchase the property, which includes a parking lot and existing structure.
“The space is initially expected to shelter up to 140 cabins for 160 people inside the building, with additional space for 50 cars/RVs in the parking lot for those wishing to transition from homelessness while remaining in their vehicles,” the county said in its November news release. “This site is recommended as the third Safe Stay Community site due to its size, access to infrastructure, and proximity to existing unsanctioned encampments – as well as the current owner’s willingness to sell the property to the County.”
When asked for an update, Haynes said, “Watt is currently in the design and programming phase and we’ll have a better timeline on the completion of that project once we’re done with that.”
Separate from the county’s trio of Safe Stay Community sites is a plan Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced last month. The city is set to receive 350 sleep cabins, which will be located at a shelter site at Cal Expo.
Using Cal Expo as a shelter site is something Steinberg has tried to accomplish for years. Back in 2019, city council members voted to fund a homeless triage shelter in the parking lot, but Cal Expo’s board never took up the issue and nothing happened.
Newsom promises the homes will be set up at Cal Expo in months - not years - and said he hopes for an opening in fall 2023.
Watch: Sacramento man concerned after people move into unattached trailer on his street | To The Point
