<\/p>\n
Councilmember Rick Jennings, seen during a Sacramento City Council meeting in January 2024, has said his district has yet to secure a site for a homeless tiny home community despite a yearslong city effort.<\/p>\n
Sara Nevis<\/p>\n
Sacramento Bee file<\/p>\n
Four years after Sacramento required each council district to site homeless housing, Councilmember Rick Jennings\u2019 district \u2014 spanning Land Park, Curtis Park and the Pocket and Greenhaven neighborhoods \u2014 still has none.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must act now,\u201d then-Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said, his emphatic tone punctuating each word.<\/p>\n
The former mayor made the remarks during a 2021 City Council meeting<\/a> to approve temporary shelters, also known as tiny homes<\/a>, for people experiencing homelessness. Steinberg implored council members to approve an ordinance, urging swift action to assist thousands sleeping on Sacramento\u2019s streets in every council district and address businesses dealing with encampments.<\/p>\n Each council member was tasked with selecting a site for long- and short-term housing. After four years of searching, Councilmember Rick Jennings<\/a> said he and city officials had not identified land that met requirements to establish a temporary shelter in his 7th District. Jennings said a site\u2019s specifications could be \u201cadjusted based on the standards that we\u2019ve set.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to be the only council (member) that doesn\u2019t have a micro-community in his district,\u201d Jennings said. \u201cI\u2019m after them constantly, talking to them, working with the city manager and different departments.\u201d<\/p>\n Efforts to establish tiny homes have extended from Steinberg\u2019s tenure into Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty\u2019s administration and his broader plan to address homelessness. McCarty\u2019s \u201csix-point plan\u201d includes creating micro-communities in districts represented by Jennings and council members Lisa Kaplan<\/a>, Caity Maple and Mai Vang.<\/p>\n The difficulty in finding a site complicates McCarty\u2019s policy to expand services for tiny homes dedicated to Sacramento\u2019s seniors. The mayor said his plan is \u201cambitious but achievable,\u201d despite Jennings and city staff not securing land since 2021 in his district, which includes the Pocket, Land Park and Curtis Park.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been clear these sites must prioritize results, cost efficiency and equitable distribution \u2014 including (Jennings\u2019 district), where we\u2019re actively evaluating several city-owned locations,\u201d McCarty wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n A tiny home site is typically placed on a city-owned parcel between one and 1.5 acres and includes about 40 units. The property must also connect to water, sewer, electrical and gas, Jennings said.<\/p>\n \u201cThose requirements being, and the amount of build out that (my district) already has,\u201d he said, \u201cit\u2019s hard to find.\u201d<\/p>\n Developing a city-owned parcel allows Sacramento to save money as the council balances a $66.2 million budget deficit. The start-up cost for each site is estimated at about $3.5 million and annual operating costs are about $500,000, Department of Community Response Director Brian Pedro has said.<\/p>\n Jennings said the city has waited to see whether property owners would sell land at roughly $1 per acre, which he described as difficult to find. Despite the yearslong search, he expressed optimism.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to keep looking,\u201d he said. \u201cTrying to turn every stone upside down, trying to make sure that we haven\u2019t missed anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Councilmember Karina Talamantes\u2019 3rd District, which includes South Natomas, does not have tiny homes. In a statement, she said her district includes permanent supportive housing for unsheltered residents at Vista Nueva and Northview Pointe apartments, along with other programs.<\/p>\n McCarty\u2019s plan calls for placing tiny homes in the following areas:<\/p>\n 1st District, North Natomas: North Natomas\u2019 3511 Arena Blvd.<\/a> in Councilmember Lisa Kaplan\u2019s district.<\/p>\n 2nd District, North Sacramento: South Hagginwood neighborhood at 2809 Rio Linda Blvd in Councilmember Roger Dickinson\u2019s district.<\/p>\n 4th District, Downtown\/East Sacramento: River District at 291 Sequoia Blvd.<\/a> in Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum\u2019s district.<\/p>\n 5th District, Oak Park\/Parkway: Brentwood neighborhood, near Sacramento Executive Airport, at 6360 25th St. in Councilmember Caity Maple\u2019s district. Parkway neighborhood at 4290 Mack Road in Maple\u2019s district.<\/p>\n 6th District, Tahoe Park\/Colonial Village\/Elder Creek: An unidentified safe parking site in Eric Guerra\u2019s district.<\/p>\n 8th District, Meadowview\/Valley Hi\/North Laguna: Meadowview neighborhood at 2461 Gardendale Road in Councilmember Mai Vang\u2019s district.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n![\"Vehicles](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0126_NSL_250911_HomelessParcel.jpg\" "\\"0126_NSL_250911_HomelessParcel.jpg\\"")
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, on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. The city-owned property was one of four recently identified in a Sacramento building permit application as a potential site for tiny homes for homeless residents age 55 and older. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
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