SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Sacramento County's 100 'Tiny Home' sleeping cabins on Florin Road are now projected for a spring 2023 grand opening, according to a county spokesperson.
While county officials hoped the Pallet cabins set to serve 125 unhoused residents would open in November, spokesperson Janna Haynes says the delays could not be avoided.
She says the projected date of opening is now spring 2023 because of multiple factors: problems from contractors, slow delivery of materials, and modifications to the original site plan.
"At one point we had hired a contractor to go out and put up a permanent fence, then they ended up dropping out," said Haynes. "We hired another contractor to put up a permanent fence and they dropped out — so now we're finally on our third contractor."
Sacramento County's first 'Tiny Homes' project
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved the 100 Tiny Homes in a 3-2 vote on June 8.
After contracting emergency housing developer City Net, the initially approved project plans were changed.
"We had a responder that we ended up hiring that has done several of these (projects), not only in California, but across the West Coast," said Haynes. "They had a lot of really great suggestions on modifications to make to our site plan based on their experience."
A change of plans also means a change of contractors, permits and the materials needed.
While the sleeping cabins are currently propped up on the vacant lot, electricity and plumbing is still needed, along with the homeless prevention services pledged by the county.
"You can't put people in a place that's uninhabitable from a legal perspective and just from a humane perspective," said Haynes. "In some ways, (delays) are just the practical nature of standing up a brand new project that you've never done before."
Costs for getting the Tiny Homes up and operational are projected to be $5.5 million, plus the contract for the day-to-day.
The county has another tiny home lot they also plan to open in 2023. The county says they do not want to rush the Florin Road opening, saying this is their opportunity to prove to Sacramento this is the solution.
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