Sacramento’s homeless ballot measure tonight could be changed or pulled from November ballot

The Sacramento City Council will hold a special meeting Tuesday to consider withdrawing or amending a November ballot measure that would require the city to provide more shelter homeless people.

The move, first reported by The Sacramento Bee on Aug. 3, was confirmed when the city posted the notice for the special meeting Monday evening, about 24 hours before the scheduled meeting.

As written, the measure would require the city to open about 1,100 new shelter beds or spaces, and also empower officials to clear more encampments.

Under the proposed amendment, if voters approve the measure Nov. 8, it would only go into effect if the county signs a legally-binding document that “memorializes the respective roles of the city and county to improve the homelessness crisis,” the staff report said.

The agreement would include the county’s responsibilities to provide mental health and substance use services to homeless individuals who need them. It would also include the county’s responsibilities to refer individuals to housing, medical, employment, social services, drug rehabilitation, child welfare and domestic violence services.

The details of the agreement would need to be approved by the council and Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, and could also add a required number of new beds.

Mayor Darrell Steinberg, through chief of staff Mary Lynne Vellinga, declined to comment for this story. He has previously criticized the county for not providing more homeless services.

This week is the deadline to place a measure on the November ballot. The Board of Supervisors agendas do not include an item to do so.

Instead the supervisors on Wednesday are scheduled to consider an ordinance to ban homeless encampments from the entire American River Parkway, which could lead to the removal of as many as 2,000 people from the public space.

The Sacramento City Council is also considering banning homeless individuals from camping on most sidewalks and in front of building entrances. The council will consider that item Tuesday with a final vote currently scheduled for Aug. 16.

The City Council in April voted 7-2 to put the homeless ballot measure before voters. Prior to that, a business-backed organization had been gathering signatures to qualify the proposal as an initiative for the November election. The business groups stopped collected signatures when the council voted to put their concept on the ballot.

Businesses want homeless measure on ballot

Now, the same business advocacy groups are urging to leave the measure on the ballot without changing it. The measure was supported by the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Region Business.

“The mayor, council and city manager need to get their priorities straight,” said Daniel Conway, the lead proponent of the measure, and chief of staff to former mayor Kevin Johnson. “They manage to always find millions to spend on pet projects. Now they are looking to break their promise to our community to finally step up on the number one issue in Sacramento — our city’s homelessness crisis.”

The California Chamber of Commerce, California Business Properties Association, California Hotel and Lodging Association, The Kimpton Sawyer, and other business organizations sent the mayor and council a letter Monday urging them to leave the original measure on the ballot.

The council has also been under pressure from homeless activists to pull the measure from the ballot altogether. They say clearing camps makes homeless people more vulnerable and less likely to get services. They also argue the measure wouldn’t require the city to build housing, just open more sanctioned tent encampments that do not get people indoors.

“I think we’re safer in groups especially as women,” said Joyce Wiliam, 54, who camps in North Sacramento, at a press conference Thursday. “We don’t feel safe ever but we feel a little bit more safe when we have people around we know we can count on.”

Advocacy groups plan Sacramento lawsuit

Sacramento civil rights attorney Mark Merin said he would file a lawsuit against the city if it takes the final administrative step Tuesday to place the original measure on the ballot. The lawsuit would be supported by the Sacramento Homeless Union, the Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee and the Democratic Socialists of America’s Sacramento chapter, he said.

A federal judge recently barred the city from clearing tent encampments until at least Aug. 25 in response to a lawsuit from the homeless union.

Pulling the measure may be supported by Councilwomen Mai Vang and Katie Valenzuela, who voted against placing the measure on the ballot in the first place, in April. They did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

There are an estimated 9,287 homeless individuals in Sacramento County on any given night, a recent count found — nearly double the amount from January 2019 and more than San Francisco. The city in recent years has opened about 1,100 shelter beds and spaces, while the county funds about 1,300. The beds are all full on any given night.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m., and will be livestreamed on the city’s website.