A trio of council members are proposing to repeal an ordinance that Mayor Kevin McCarty is relying on to expand homelessness services.
The elected officials say more transparency is needed to create shelters. But McCarty, who seeks a faster process, staked his plan to help unsheltered residents by creating new micro-communities in North Natomas and south Sacramento.
Built on city-owned land, three sites with 40 “tiny homes” each would offer Sacramento’s vulnerable a refuge from the streets with electricity, heating, WiFi, showers, laundry and other on-site services, according to his office.
The mayor is relying on a 2023 ordinance to muscle the plan through the city’s layers of approval. The law, which passed under then-Mayor Darrell Steinberg, delegated to the city manager the sole ability to approve contracts worth up to $5 million related to creating a temporary shelter program. Typically, the entire City Council approves contracts worth $250,000 and more.
Since the passage of the 2023 ordinance, McCarty said in a statement that more than 500 new beds opened through the “streamlined” process. But council members Lisa Kaplan, Karina Talamantes and Rick Jennings — who all support micro-communities — seek to repeal the 2023 ordinance as the city faces its third consecutive year with a multimillion dollar budget deficit, with the stated goal of making the process of approving contracts more transparent.
“What city staff is doing is not best practices, and I’m concerned about the use of taxpayer funds in light of the significant budget deficit,” Kaplan wrote on social media.
Jennings said he supported the 2023 ordinance, but now backs Kaplan’s proposal to “not necessarily overturn the City Manager’s authority but rather to have the conversation about this with the new council members and the mayor.”
Repealing the 2023 ordinance could be difficult. Any council member can propose a new ordinance, but only the mayor and the city manager have the power place them on the council agenda or send them to committees.
McCarty said in a statement he will “not proceed with efforts to repeal” the ordinance, so the repeal’s chances depend on new City Manager Maraskeshia Smith, who started in her role in January.
The 2023 ordinance came as residents clamored for the City Council to quickly offer spaces for unhoused people. Then-Mayor Darrell Steinberg pleaded with his council to trust then-City Manager Howard Chan to select city-owned land with tents and access to showers, bathrooms and other facilities.
Chan selected one site — on Roseville Road — over 17 months. Then the city selected four new sites in September: a safe camping location in the River District, and the three tiny home micro-communities in North Natomas and south Sacramento.
The effort to repeal the 2023 ordinance comes as Kaplan and Talamantes have expressed opposition to the North Natomas micro-community, which would be near Arena Boulevard and El Centro Road.
Vehicles drive past a long, slender parcel at the corner of El Centro Road and Arena Boulevard in North Natomas, south of the Stadium Club Estates mobile home park, in September. The city-owned property was selected as a site for a tiny homes micro-community for the homeless. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Kaplan said the city’s Department of Community Response did not consult with her before selecting this site. She and Talamantes have proposed moving the micro-community to 918 Del Paso Blvd., the city’s North Area Corporation Yard.
McCarty and Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum have said they support keeping the 2023 ordinance. Council members Eric Guerra and Caity Maple voted for the ordinance in 2023, but their respective offices did not immediately respond to a request for comment asking if they support repealing the ordinance.
A representative for Councilmember Mai Vang said she’s reviewing the proposal and seeks to have a discussion with Sacramento’s city manager.
Councilmember Roger Dickinson said he’s aware of the idea to repeal the ordinance and added he’s not scrutinized it in detail. In principle, he said the council should designate locations for housing — but the history to adopt the 2023 law is revealing.
“The history regarding this issue gives me pause with respect with repealing the ordinance at this point,” he said.
Repealing the ordinance could slow down McCarty’s plan to address homelessness. But Jennings added a balance should be struck between transparency and approving policy.
“While it may add a little bit of time to the process, making sure that the process is public and transparent is always something I support,” Jennings wrote.
This story was originally published March 2, 2026 at 4:00 PM.
Related Stories from Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Bee
Ishani Desai is a government watchdog reporter for The Sacramento Bee. She previously covered crime and courts for The Bakersfield Californian.