Sacramento County approves homeless safe parking program in North Highlands

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a safe parking program in North Highlands, where it expects people experiencing homelessness will be able to access case management and basic services. 

Once it opens, county staff said up to 30 people at a time will be able to park at the site on Watt Avenue. Guests will also have access to showers, restrooms and at least two meals a day. 

The county is planning to begin the program early next year while it continues to design a larger “Safe Stay Community” on the property, said Emily Halcon, director of the Department of Homeless Services and Housing. Outreach workers plan to focus on inviting people living in cars nearby — including on Roseville Road and in McClellan Business Park — to participate in the program. 

“We envision providing a safe parking program to allow them to transition out of living in a vehicle into either shelter or housing,” Halcon said. “We recognize that this is a short-term solution and not intended to be a place where people are permanently sheltered in their vehicle.” 

The board approved buying the property located at 4837 Watt Ave. with the intent of building a Safe Stay Community about a year ago. The county has said it designs such communities near existing encampments and intentionally offers non-congregate shelter at the locations. 

In October 2022, the board green-lit spending about $23 million for the 13-acre site, which includes a warehouse and vacant land. The county paid for it with federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. The initial concept included 140 sleeping cabins inside the warehouse and 50 outdoor safe parking spots. 

Sacramento County plans to open a Safe Stay Community for people experiencing homelessness at this Watt Avenue property in North Highlands. It is pictured on Nov. 9, 2022.Courtesy of Sacramento County

Natasha Drane, deputy director of the Department of General Services, said on Tuesday that the county plans to give the board an update on the full site design in January. The county aims to begin construction for the safe parking program in December and finish by the end of January, Drane added. Planned work includes adding privacy screening cloths to the fencing and improving existing restrooms in the warehouse. 

Supervisor Rich Desmond, who represents the area where the Watt Avenue site is located, praised starting with the parking program. 

“As the longer term permanent use for this comes online and other ideas pop up, I think we should be open to other potential interim uses, too,” Desmond said. “Because it’s going to be a while until this is built out and brought up to the standard of a full Safe Stay Community that we’re contemplating.” 

Supervisors approved the contractor City Net, which also runs the Safe Stay Community in South Sacramento, to operate the parking program. The contract begins in December and ends in June 2026. The county is paying City Net about $3.5 million with an Encampment Resolution Funding grant from the state. 

At the site, City Net will provide case management to help participants get housing and refer them to services such as mental health care and public benefits. Halcon said the program can also help participants repair or get rid of their cars once they get permanent housing. The county isn’t planning to require people to provide proof of car insurance or registration, Halcon said, because it could deter them entering the program. 

The Watt Avenue site will be the first Sacramento County-ran parking program for people experiencing homelessness, Halcon said. The Safe Stay Community in South Sacramento doesn’t include an area for people to live in their cars. 

The site on Florin and Power Inn roads opened in August after months of delays. It has 100 tiny homes for temporary shelter.