North Natomas residents on March 10, 2026, descend on City Hall to oppose a micro-community for homeless seniors at the corner of Arena Boulevard and El Centro Road. Now, a group is taking the issue to court.
Ishani Desai
idesai@sacbee.com
A group of North Natomas residents is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop a planned homeless shelter for senior citizens from opening in their neighborhood.
The “micro-community,” to be filled with 40 tiny homes at the corner of Arena Boulevard and El Centro Road come January, has drawn ire in North Natomas for months. Dozens flocked to City Hall, wielding signs and voicing pleas for Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty, Sacramento City Manager Maraskeshia Smith and other council members to halt construction.
Now, a newly formed organization of North Natomas residents, called the Advisory Council for Legal and Ethical Oversight, on Monday launched its court challenge after McCarty and Smith suggested during a recent town hall with The Sacramento Bee that shelter construction will proceed. City leaders have said the shelter would be temporary, hence tiny homes rather than a permanent structure, though they have not specified exactly how long it would be open.
The North Natomas group still doesn’t want it.
“This is not about opposing solutions for Sacramento’s unhoused neighbors,” according to a news release from the group. . “It is about insisting that those solutions be delivered lawfully, transparently, and with genuine respect for the community’s voice.”
In their filing in Sacramento Superior Court, the residents accuse city officials of violating Measure O, which mandates that interim shelters sit more than 500 feet away from bodies of water or streams.
An aerial view of the corner of El Centro Road and Arena Boulevard in North Natomas on Sept. 11, 2025. The city-owned property is one of four eyed for tiny homes for homeless residents age 55 and older. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
The North Natomas micro-community site is near Sundance Park, which abuts Sundance Lake. Whether it’s close enough to halt the project — even temporarily — will be up to a judge.
“(The plaintiffs) live in close proximity to the proposed project site and face direct, substantial, and particularized harm to their property values, health, safety, and quality of life if the project proceeds in violation of applicable law,” according to the residents’ court filing.
Tuesday marked a state holiday — Farmworkers Day, formerly Cesar Chavez Day — for the city of Sacramento, and officials could not be reached for comment.
Micro-communities are sprouting around Sacramento as the city grapples with homelessness. Two for homeless seniors are planned at 6360 25th St., near Sacramento Executive Airport, and 2461 Gardendale Road in Meadowview. Another is expected to take shape in Councilmember Rick Jennings’ district, which stretches from Land Park to the Pocket.
The controversy surrounding the North Natomas micro-community comes amid a heated re-election campaign for Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, who represents the area. She has said she will “stand beside” any lawsuits filed by residents.
Kaplan has said she chose the silver of land at Arena and El Centro to be a shelter site, but said she did not know city officials would plan a tiny-home community there. Kaplan and Councilmember Karina Talamantes, who represents a different part of North Natomas, have opposed placing the micro-community at Arena and El Centro, though both support the idea of a temporary homeless shelter.
McCarty and many council members elevated micro-communities as a cost-effective way to house Sacramento’s seniors. The North Natomas site’s 40 tiny homes, each 120 square feet, are set to have electricity, heating, shared bathrooms and other services.
Smith and McCarty said it’s difficult to open new facilities for homeless people.
“There’s been a lot of brouhaha for this one,” McCarty said during The Bee’s town hall. “A lot of false information (that’s) kind of thrown proverbial gas on the fire.”
A hearing date on the TRO request has not been set. The residents have not retained legal counsel and say they’ll represent themselves in court. Should a judge grant the request, it would open the door to whether the project could be halted long-term.
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Ishani Desai is a government watchdog reporter for The Sacramento Bee. She previously covered crime and courts for The Bakersfield Californian.