Site For Elk Grove's Permanent Homeless Shelter Selected
District 2 Councilmember Rod Brewer also questioned whether the city was acting with compassion in its site selection
After a year-long process that included extensive public outreach, the Elk Grove City Council selected the preferred location for a permanent homeless shelter. The 4-1 decision came after a three-hour meeting, with the site selection hearing taking up most of the session.
The city had narrowed to three possible sites for the facility after filtering through hundreds of possible locations within city limits. The city council decided to pursue property negotiations for the site at Survey Road and East Stockton Blvd., just south of Grant Line Road.
The city council's decision came after an hour of public comments. Most of those comments came from residents and business owners located near one of the other possible sites on East Stockton Blvd. That site was the closest to services for the shelter's clients, but also to a residential neighborhood.
According to the report from Sarah Bontrager, Elk Grove's Housing and Public Services Manager, the Survey Road location was estimated to have the lowest cost among the three sites. That estimate is between $12.5 and $14 million.
The preferred site on Survey Road is in City Council District 2, which Councilmember Rod Brewer represents. Brewer noted that the Survey Road is less accessible to services and amenities for clients than the East Stockton Blvd site, which was his first choice.
"My first choice, unwavering, is East Stockton Boulevard," Brewer stated.
During deliberations, an initial motion by Councilmember Sergio Robles was made to adopt a resolution ranking the Survey Road site as the preferred location. However, Brewer moved to designate Survey Road as the primary location, with East Stockton Blvd. as a backup if negotiations with the property owner fail. The second motion from Brewer lost by a 2-3 vote, with Brewer and Robles voting yes.
The first motion to designate only the Survey Road as the site of the shelter, with no alternatives, passed with Brewer the sole dissenting vote.
Before the vote, Brewer offered a lengthy commentary (see video below) that included Old Testament references, underscoring the importance of compassion for clients in site selection. He also discussed incidents where homeless individuals were blamed for things they did not do.
As he concluded the commentary, Brewer also questioned whether the city was acting with compassion. While he didn't object to the Survey Road as the second choice, he questioned his colleagues' motivations.
"My question will be, are we really fulfilling our mission to be compassionate, and loving, and restoring each other," he said. "Or, are we really looking to do something to make ourselves feel better?"
