SACRAMENTO, Calif. — At Tuesday’s Sacramento City Council meeting, members discussed proposals to add more shelters for people experiencing homelessness. One of those proposed ideas is a tiny home — or sleeping cabin as some would describe it.
That is the idea Councilman Jeff Harris put forth. The plan would put 49 sleeping cabins for women and children in an empty, city-owned lot on Northgate Boulevard and Patio Avenue in South Natomas.
“What we would like to do with this project is create a tiny home community adjacent to a school," Harris explained to ABC10. "So, potentially kids who are on the street will be able to get stability, housing and participate in the school."
Maksin Zhuvavlev and his family live next to the lot and say right now, the lot is a magnet for trouble. He said he thinks housing for only women and children could help the area.
“I just hope there is someone here controlling all of that,” Zhuvavlev said.
Zhuvavlev's neighbor few houses down, resident Bill Johnson, disagrees. Johnson said building a sheltered community in front of Garden Valley Elementary school is a recipe for trouble.
“That is the wrong place to put it," Johnson said. "There could be a better place. There are other open lots around here. Again, my big concern is the school."
Other proposals from the city council include establishing safe parking lots where people could sleep in their cars, or converting the Motel 6 on Alhambra Boulevard into a shelter. Representatives with Motel 6 said in a statement that they recognize the "challenging nature of homelessness in local communities."
"That said, we have not participated in discussions related to Councilman Harris’ proposals,” Motel 6 representatives said.
Sacramento City Council is looking into proposed sites for new homeless shelters
Thomas Mullens has been living on the streets for five years and doesn’t like the idea of converting the motel. “It sounds like a good idea to open and try to be more friendly with the homeless, but I don’t know about here," Mullens said. "This is just an active neighborhood. There is a lot of people that probably might take advantage of it and use it for the wrong way."
In April, the city plans on opening a 100-bed shelter for women in Meadowview. A separate 100-bed shelter for men and women will open in may under the W/X freeway in North Oak Park.
Follow the conversation on Facebook with Mayde Gomez.
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