After approval pulled, Sacramento shelter will move forward

Six months after the Trump Administration blocked Sacramento officials from opening a large homeless shelter under the W-X freeway, Caltrans is allowing the project to move forward anyway.

Caltrans earlier this month signed a lease agreement with Sacramento, allowing the city to move forward with the project on a vacant lot near X Street and Alhambra Boulevard — a key component of the city’s homeless response strategy.

It’s unclear if Joe Biden winning the presidential election played a role in the project’s revival. The Caltrans lease agreement is dated Nov. 17 — about 10 days after media outlets declared Biden had defeated President Donald Trump.

As first reported by The Sacramento Bee, the Trump Administration in May yanked approval for the shelter, along with a shelter planned to open in

San Francisco — both on Caltrans land. California Gov. Gavin Newsom had been encouraging cities to open shelters on stateowned sites, including Caltrans properties. But the federal government also has control over Caltrans sites, throwing the projects into uncertainty.

By the time federal officials withdrew approval, the city of Sacramento had already spent $650,000 on paving, permitting and design work for the site near Oak Park. In July, the council voted to hire a construction firm for the project, but it still lacked federal and Caltrans approval, so city officials decided not to start construction.

Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin sent a letter to Federal Highway Administration Division Administrator Vincent Mammano on Oct. 12 asking for approval to open five “temporary emergency” shelters across the state — the W-X site, one in San Francisco, two in San Jose and one in Oakland.