Sacramento will receive 350 homes, Los Angeles will get 500, San Jose will receive 200 and San Diego County will get 150, according to the governor鈥檚 office.
鈥淚 get it. You want to see progress and you want to see it now,鈥� Newsom said at a news conference at Cal Expo, where some of the Sacramento region鈥檚 homes will be placed. 鈥淵ou want to see progress in terms of encampments. You want to see progress in terms of getting people off the street.鈥�
Newsom said the tiny homes will offer local governments a way to humanely move people from encampments to shelter.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about sweeping things under the rug or kicking people off the streets and sidewalks and claiming a job well done,鈥� the governor said. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 do justice.鈥�
Newsom鈥檚 announcement at the state fairgrounds served as the kick-off to his four-day tour across California 鈥� happening in lieu of a traditional state of the state address. The governor is expected to unveil a series of policies regarding public safety and health care costs, according to his office.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg spoke at the event and said his city welcomes the small homes, noting officials have struggled to provide shelter as the .
鈥淒espite the unprecedented commitment and investment by this governor, we still don鈥檛 have enough [shelter] beds,鈥� Steinberg said. 鈥淲e started out with less than 100 when I was [first elected] mayor. Now we鈥檙e at 1,100 beds a night and they鈥檙e full.鈥�
The governor said the tiny homes will cost approximately $30 million and would be set up 鈥渨ithin months, not years,鈥� estimating they could be open by this fall. All of the homes will be wired for electricity and most will have a heating and cooling system, said Daniel Lopez, a spokesperson for the governor. Some will be plumbed for water, though others will require separate bathroom and laundry facilities, he added.
The tiny homes will be procured by the state and then delivered and set up in local communities by the California National Guard. In exchange, the cities and counties receiving the tiny homes will be expected to choose the location and provide services for the people who will be sheltered by them.
But those services won鈥檛 be cheap and the tiny homes might not open right away.
Sacramento County is already spending . But after announcing the project last April, officials said it鈥檚 experienced $500,000 in cost overruns and won鈥檛 open until late this spring.
鈥榃e need to focus on triaging today鈥�
Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, a Democrat who represents Sacramento, including the Cal Expo area, said permanent supportive housing remains the long-term answer to homelessness, 鈥渂ut we need to focus on triaging today.鈥�
鈥淐alifornians demand action today. We cannot wait,鈥� McCarty said. 鈥淭his helps get people out of the encampments along our beloved American River Parkway and from our central city freeways.鈥�
McCarty added that he鈥檚 grateful the state fairgrounds will finally be used as a site for homeless housing. In 2021, Newsom signed a bill authored by McCarty to allow Cal Expo to be used for that purpose, but the siting of small homes never took place.
While Democrats praised Newsom鈥檚 plan, the state Senate鈥檚 top Republican Brian Jones of San Diego called it 鈥渁nother band-aid on a crisis that is out of control.鈥�
鈥淲hile I appreciate the governor鈥檚 creativity to construct 1,200 tiny homes, that is a drop in the bucket,鈥� Jones said in a written statement.
The governor also announced a marked improvement in local governments鈥� plans to reduce homelessness since October, when he to cities and counties, saying the combined plans would only aim to reduce homelessness by 2%.
After collecting revised plans, he said that number had increased to a 15% reduction goal statewide. The governor plans to release another $1 billion in grants under the state鈥檚 Homelessness Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program.
The rising rate of homelessness has about the problem. Newsom, citing billions spent to reduce homelessness in recent years, has called for stronger results and greater accountability from local governments.
Steinberg and other local officials have called for an ongoing financial commitment from the state, which they argue would help them plan years in advance for shelter and treatment.
Some, including San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, have also said they can鈥檛 keep up with the pace of residents falling into homelessness due to rising rents and financial instability. For every ten people the city helped get off the streets last year, Gloria said 13 more lost their housing.
鈥楧efine who鈥檚 supposed to do what鈥�
For years, advocates for people experiencing homelessness in Sacramento to confront the region鈥檚 crisis. Those calls helped push forward the region鈥檚 homelessness partnership agreement.
But there remains a lack of agreement and clarity across California over which local and state agencies are responsible for which roles in addressing the crisis. Officials have asked: How can local governments address growing homeless camps on state property, such as along freeways, when it鈥檚 not their jurisdiction? How can a city provide mental health or addiction treatment services when only county governments are funded to do so?
On Thursday morning, the California Association of Counties, CSAC, unveiled its with the goal of defining those roles for all levels of government. The association advocates for county governments.
Yolo County Supervisor Oscar Villegas, a member of CSAC鈥檚 homelessness action team, told CapRadio the plan would allow cities, counties and the state to 鈥渇inally, once and for all, focus in on this issue of homelessness and how are we going to make a difference.鈥�
鈥淲e believe the precursor to real, long-term success on homelessness is to first define who鈥檚 supposed to do what,鈥� added CSAC executive director Graham Knaus, speaking at a press conference.
Officials said the plan would ultimately require the state鈥檚 approval to become law.
The most recent show California鈥檚 homeless population reached more than 171,000 last year, or 30% of the nation鈥檚 total unhoused population. The vast majority of the state鈥檚 homeless population is unsheltered, meaning they live on the street, in a vehicle, an abandoned building or anywhere else considered unsuitable for habitation.
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