Elk Grove City Council to Receive Permanent Homeless Shelter Online Survey Results
The City of Elk Grove will unveil the results of an online community survey on site selection criteria for a proposed permanent homeless shelter during the City Council’s October 22 meeting — but those survey results were not included in the staff report released ahead of the session.
The survey, which closed October 17 and drew more than 360 responses, asked residents to rank priorities such as cost and feasibility, proximity to services, distance from homes or schools, access to transportation, and safety. However, the survey was conducted online and is not statistically valid under conventional polling standards — meaning the results may not reflect the overall views of the city’s population.
City staff said the feedback will inform a site‐scoring strategy and technical evaluation being conducted by NJA Architecture, which was contracted earlier this year to help plan the permanent facility. The city currently operates a temporary shelter in a leased building at Calvary Christian Center on East Stockton Boulevard, scheduled to close by September 2028.
According to the report prepared by Housing and Public Services Manager Sarah Bontrager, staff initially reviewed about 130 possible properties for the permanent shelter before narrowing the list based on factors such as size, access to utilities, and development constraints.
A presentation at the October 22 meeting is expected to outline public feedback and a proposed site‐scoring methodology. The top four possible sites will then be released for public comment in January 2026.
