SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento County Homeless Initiative officials showed county supervisors 16 viable sites they could consider for the next 'Safe Stay' sanctioned encampment sites.
During a May 11 board of supervisors meeting, homeless initiative officials laid out a rough development plan regarding four of the viable sites, though only one was county-owned.
Officials say they plan to house future Safe Stay guests in sleeping cabins.
"The other three (sites) are private, and two of them are undisclosed because we have yet to do some of the community work," said Sacramento County Homeless Initiatives Director Emily Halcon. "We estimate, if we were to develop them all, it would be just over $20 million in capital cost."
Two of the four sites county officials are looking into include:
1. 8144 Florin Road, Sacramento (private)
- 125 sleeping cabin spaces
- $6.9 million estimated capital cost
- $4.4 million estimated annual operating cost
2. 5605 Marconi Boulevard, Carmichael (county-owned)
- 20 to 40 sleeping cabin spaces
- $3 million estimated capital cost
- $1.5 million estimated annual operating cost
Halcon said to supervisors that any 'Stay Safe' site under consideration would need county approval, and the community near the site needs to be notified.
She presented the list of viable sites are supervisors requested on February 16 that she and other staff report back on their efforts to identify appropriate sites for expanding homeless sheltering opportunities.
County supervisors also requested an assessment of County-owned land.
Controversy over identified sites
Shortly after Sacramento County Homeless Initiative officials presented the viable sites for future "Safe Stay" locations, residents countywide expressed concern over the perception that these sites were already under development.
County officials said in a May 16 statement that "misconceptions were further exacerbated" when the Sacramento Bee reported on the presented viable sites—though the county didn't allege any factual inaccuracies in the report.
"Specifically the notion that the Carmichael location is somehow already in process... it is not," a county spokesperson said regarding the 5605 Marconi Boulevard site. "Any recommended site will include enough characteristics that staff believe they could support a viable Safe Stay or Safe Parking community."
