Sacramento City Council approves ordinance to allow city manager to establish temporary shelters

(KTXL) — On Tuesday, the Sacramento City Council addressed the homeless crisis seen across the city as they approved a possible increase of shelter beds and a potential new outreach protocol with the unhoused.

The main ordinance on the agenda was focused on authorizing the city manager to implement a temporary shelter program and the new homeless response protocol.

Council members Lisa Kaplan, Rick Jennings and Karina Talamantes brought the item forward reguarding the homeless response protocol.

“Our goal is real simple,” Jennings said. “To ensure a safe place and public safety for all, to have compliance on existing ordinances that are currently on the books and to make sure we are complying with those ordinances to ensure a safe place and public safety for all.”

Although the item was not brought up until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, around 30 people made public comments on the item.

“Thank you to everybody in the audience who has come, whether you are for this or against this,” Kaplan said. “We are better together, but we have to do more for our citizens.”

The new response protocol would allow a team of first responders and the Department of Community Response to use mandatory enforcement on homeless camps if they don’t first voluntarily comply or move specifically away from critical infrastructure.  

However, councilmembers say this is about more than just moving people, and it comes down to helping folks who have fallen on hard times by getting them the resources they need. 

The sweep at C and 28th was a common topic of reference to show how the mandatory enforcement can work, and while the streets are clean there Tuesday, city officials say the movement really didn’t move the needle in getting people help. 

Councilmembers and public speakers say we need real solutions, not something that will start over every year.

The item passed with seven votes in favor and two votes against.

This was not the only item on the agenda to focus on homelessness. The council also voted to expand the weather respite activation criteria and expanded where the homeless can’t camp to include the DA’s office and the courthouse.