Meeting for the first time in 2021, the Sacramento City Council Tuesday voted unanimously to endorse Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s proposal for a city-wide comprehensive plan for siting, financing and operating housing solutions for people experiencing homelessness.

The Council also voted to restart the process for issuing an affordable housing bond of up to $100 million.

In response to shorter-term concerns about people exposed to the elements this winter, the Council also approved bringing back for a vote on Jan. 19 an ordinance that could designate as many as 1,700 sites around the City as appropriate for “Safe Ground” style organized encampments.

Tuesday’s vote means the Council will hold a series of workshops and engage in intensive community outreach and site review over the next several months – culminating in a June up-or-down vote on the resulting master plan. Staff members from the City will work with their counterparts at the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency and Sacramento County, along with local stakeholders, to evaluate sites and determine their best use—i.e. for a Navigation Center, tiny homes, safe parking, etc.

While the Council vote applies only to the City, Mayor Steinberg said he and other officials would continue reaching out to and working with their counterparts at Sacramento County, which has responsibility for delivering human services in the county, to make the plan a joint effort. A Feb. 9 workshop will be devoted to exploring the potential for establishing a large, service-rich campus to shelter people experiencing homelessness in the city and county and help them move into permanent housing. One model of such an approach, the Haven for Hope in San Antonio, Texas, has received considerable attention and study in Sacramento.

“We can’t do it alone,” Mayor Steinberg said. “Tonight we extend our hands, collectively, to our county partners to say that as we move forward with this work, we need you and we want to work with you. We had a great and positive experience with Project Roomkey, and we want to replicate that.”

Council members will be asked to lead the outreach in their districts.

The City’s ongoing efforts to address homelessness will continue during the creation of the plan. These included the construction of a new Navigation Center near the WX Freeway at Broadway and Alhambra and the conversion of a motel in south Sacramento to permanent supportive housing. The combined efforts of the City, Sacramento County and the Sacramento Steps Forward non-profit have helped get 5,000 people off the streets and into longer-term housing over the last 18 months.

Both private and publicly owned sites will be considered for inclusion in the master plan, which will also identify resources needed to prevent homelessness and provide rental assistance and other resources to Sacramentans who are housing insecure.

The measure passed Tuesday also directed ity Treasurer John Colville to conduct a general fund stress test and analysis of debt ratios needed before issuance of an affordable housing bond. Falling interest rates have given the City more borrowing capacity.

If the treasurer gives the green light, and a bond goes forward, Mayor Steinberg said he will seek to ensure a sizable portion of the proceeds are earmarked to build affordable housing in the vicinity of UC Davis’ planned Aggie Square knowledge and innovation hub at Stockton Boulevard and Second Avenue. While Aggie Square promises to bring thousands of jobs and cutting-edge life sciences research to 10 acres of the UC Davis Sacramento campus, community groups have raised concerns that it will drive up housing prices in the adjacent Oak Park neighborhood.