The ordinance says a temporary shelter<\/a> will be granted an administrative permit if it \u201cis more than 500 feet, measured from property line to property line, from any of the following: temporary shelter facility; childcare center; childcare, in-home (family day care home); school, K-12; park; or museum.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bee\u2019s analysis, measuring from property line to property line, found the city-owned parcel is less than 500 feet from Sundance Park, which is in a residential neighborhood and borders glittering Sundance Lake.<\/p>\n A city spokesperson wrote that the ordinance only applies to private developers and offered a different way to measure than from \u201cproperty line to property line.\u201d The distance from the park to the first tiny home would be more than 500 feet, wrote city spokesperson Julie Hall.<\/p>\n Some North Natomas residents have criticized the project, which is getting underway during a heated re-election campaign<\/a> for Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, who represents the area. Kaplan has questioned building micro-communities<\/a> amid a $66 million city budget<\/a> deficit and said she will \u201cstand beside\u201d any lawsuit filed against the site.<\/p>\n \u201cIgnoring the 500-foot buffer is unacceptable and erodes community trust \u2014 especially when the rule was intentionally created to protect and safeguard neighborhoods,\u201d Kaplan wrote in a statement. \u201cWhy would the Mayor not want to protect this neighborhood?\u201d<\/p>\n Mayor Kevin McCarty included building three micro-communities in his plan to add 625 new housing units for unsheltered residents. He stood behind the North Natomas project \u2014 the first micro-community scheduled to be built \u2014 in a statement, writing that the city is complying with all applicable housing and homeless siting laws.<\/p>\n \u201cLocating homeless sites is rarely easy and often politically charged, but it is necessary work,\u201d he wrote. \u201cSacramento is moving forward with real, practical solutions that help transition people off the streets and into stability.\u201d<\/p>\n Why have a micro-community in North Natomas?<\/p>\n Each council member was charged with selecting city-owned land in their district for a homeless shelter under the 2021 ordinance. Kaplan said the sliver of land is the only available parcel in her district, and knew city staff was contemplating the location.<\/p>\n But, Kaplan has said, she did not know the area at the corner of Arena Boulevard and El Centro Road had been officially selected until a person was spotted last summer collecting soil samples for an environmental analysis.<\/p>\n Kaplan\u2019s district does not have any homelessness facilities, Hall wrote. For the city, she added, the lack of an established shelter made selecting the North Natomas location an appealing option.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city has worked to create geographical diversity and parity with the siting of its homelessness facilities,\u201d Hall wrote in an email. \u201cWe would like to have facilities in every district because there are people experiencing homelessness in every district.\u201d<\/p>\n About 90% of the parcel is more than 500 feet away from the park, according to The Bee\u2019s analysis.<\/p>\n The 2021 ordinance is also \u201cimmaterial\u201d because the \u201cproximity restrictions in the ordinance govern private development and do not apply to the city itself,\u201d Hall wrote. However, the law does not explicitly address private developers.<\/p>\n Kaplan called for equal standards.<\/p>\n \u201cThe standards required for privately developed emergency shelters should also apply to the city,\u201d Kaplan wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n The city has not released a site plan showing the locations of the 120-square-foot tiny homes. Residents will have heating and air conditioning and shared bathrooms, showers and other services. The site is scheduled to be completed in January.<\/p>\n The opposition<\/p>\n The North Natomas site has drawn scorn from dozens of area residents who arrived at City Hall to voice opposition, plead for the city to reconsider the location and threaten a lawsuit at a recent council meeting. They suggested that the new shelter could cause public safety problems, strain resources and change the neighborhood\u2019s character.<\/p>\n The city also has a $66 million budget deficit. In Tuesday\u2019s City Council meeting, Kaplan questioned creating the North Natomas micro-community and other temporary shelters as officials plan to slash vacant staff positions and cut programs.<\/p>\n \u201cAll new sites should be paused until the city\u2019s financial situation stabilizes,\u201d Kaplan wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n Two additional other micro-communities for homeless seniors are planned at 6360 25th St., near Sacramento Executive Airport, and 2461 Gardendale Road in Meadowview. Another homeless site is expected to be designated in Councilmember Rick Jennings\u2019 district, which stretches from Land Park to the Pocket.<\/p>\n Seniors will pay 30% of their income to reside in each site if their stay lasts more than 90 days.<\/p>\n Each location will cost about $3.5 million to create and about $500,000 per year to maintain, said Brian Pedro, the director of the Department of Community Response, at a meeting in September.<\/p>\n He said the model is the most cost-effective solution to homeless housing \u2014 the city saves the money it would have spent on a lease and instead pays a one-time cost to build.<\/p>\n Both Kaplan and Councilmember Karina Talamantes, who represents South Natomas and parts of North Natomas, have opposed creating the Arena Boulevard micro-community, though they favor the micro-community concept itself. They have proposed establishing a temporary shelter at the North Area Corporation Yard on Del Paso Road in North Natomas.<\/p>\n For Talamantes, moving the shelter to another city-owned parcel is cost-effective because it already has a paved lot, security and gates.<\/p>\n \u201cI hear questions and concerns from my constituents about this location, and they are demanding better answers from city staff,\u201d Talamantes wrote in an email.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n The requirements outlined in the 2021 ordinance for temporary homeless shelters complicate the city\u2019s efforts to address unsheltered homelessness, wrote Ron Hochbaum, an associate clinical professor of law at the McGeorge School of Law.<\/p>\n For decades, the city primarily responded to homelessness by \u201chiding\u201d the problem through passing criminal laws that banned unhoused people from parks and other public spaces, Hochbaum said. The 2021 ordinance\u2019s restrictions are an extension of those policies, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe irony, however, is that shelter and housing are the only effective solutions, and now the city is struggling to find viable locations that comport with the restrictions it adopted,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n In addition to the 500-foot radius from parks, day cares, K-12 schools, museums and other facilities, micro-communities cannot be within a half-mile of another \u201ctemporary residential shelter\u201d and must be within certain land use zones. Residents have cited those conditions as grounds for a future lawsuit.<\/p>\n \u201cPush comes to shove, we will file it ourselves,\u201d said North Natomas resident Rick Loek.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n![\"North](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/img-26-03-13-97ABE.jpg\" "\\"img-26-03-13-97ABE.jpg\\"")
North Natomas residents on Tuesday hold signs opposing the micro-community at the corner of Arena Boulevard and El Centro Road during a Tuesday Sacramento Council meeting. ISHANI DESAI idesai@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ISHANI-DESAI-HEADSHOT.jpg\")