California has yet to provide 1,200 tiny homes for state’s homeless that were promised in March 2023
The governor was recently mocked for touting California as having a 'national model' for combating homelessness
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}California hasn't provided any of the tiny homes that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom promised homeless residents last year, according to a new report.
Newsom promised in March 2023 to send 1,200 tiny homes to four cities across the state, but so far only 150 have been purchased, Cal Matters reported. It's unclear exactly what's caused the repeated delays, with the state at times blaming local governments, even though local officials in some cases were quick to approve projects.
"Gov. Gavin Newsom said he’d send tiny homes to San Jose, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego County. Why haven’t any materialized yet?" the outlet asked in its report.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As CalMatters noted, Newsom’s March 2023 plan involved the state buying 500 tiny homes for Los Angeles, 350 for Sacramento, 200 for San Jose, and 150 for San Diego. Once each area bought the homes, "The California National Guard would help prepare and deliver them."
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An image of tiny homes in California, similar to the ones proposed by Gov. Newsom, D-Calif., in 2023 to house homeless people in the state. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
The homes, some as small as 120 square feet, can be assembled in 90 minutes and cost a fraction of what it takes to build permanent housing. Newsom said the homes would create space to help clear homeless encampments that have sprung up across the state's major cities. Federal courts have ruled cities can't clear homeless encampments if there are no shelter beds available.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Though the state’s initial plan was to buy and then supply homes to each location, the outlet noted the plan morphed into giving the cities cash grants and letting them order the tiny homes at their discretion.
Newsom’s administration tasked six vendors to supply the tiny homes throughout the state, though most of them have yet to receive a single order.
Kam Valgardson, the general manager of one of these vendors – Irontown Modular – told the outlet that the company was "absolutely shocked" it has not received any orders to build these homes yet.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Valgardson added, "The big problem is that the homeless people aren’t getting served," I can complain as a business, but these homeless people are getting no support, no relief. The money’s been promised, but something’s broken in the process and nobody’s placing orders."
The outlet described the situation, noting, "There have been multiple delays and about-faces, over everything from the way the state is funding the units to the ability of local cities and counties to find places to put them."
It added that, though the state government complains the delay is on local authorities to get these homes built, "tiny homes have failed to materialize even when local leaders moved quickly to approve a project site."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CalMatters also reported that it was denied access to emails between the governor’s office and other state officials on this topic because "Communications involving the governor’s office are exempt from the California Public Records Act."
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Department of General Services deputy director Monica Hassan told the outlet that Sacramento has started constructing its tiny home site and given funding to the other three locations, adding that this means the state is keeping its promise.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She also waved off critics complaining about the plan adhering to a certain timeline, stating, "Focusing solely on timelines diminishes the hard work of numerous individuals dedicated to providing much-needed housing."
The governor’s chief of staff Jason Elliot told CalMatters that local governments are to blame for the plan not being implemented as they’ve purchased almost none of the tiny homes.
"What the state has done is provide billions of dollars in new investment, dozens and dozens of bills to cut red tape and a policy framework that pushes for faster action to resolve unsheltered encampments. But as we have seen time and time again in California, local commitment and partnership is the other side of that coin," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Newsom administration has been widely criticized for its handling of the homeless crisis in California. Last year, a study found that the state has around one-third of the entire nation’s homeless population. And the number of homeless in the state is growing, being 6% higher than it was last year.
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A homeless encampment on the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, Thursday, May 9, 2024. Some California Democrats are questioning why Gov. Gavin Newsom's homelessness council failed to track whether billions of dollars spent on curbing the homelessness crisis were successful in the last five years. (Toby Canham for Fox News Digital)
Additionally, the governor is under fire for not having kept records of how billions of dollars spent on solving the homeless crisis has actually improved things.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Despite the controversy, Newsom recently touted his state as being a "national model" for combating homelessness, a claim that some ridiculed as the "height of delusion" on social media.
The governor's office did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital's request for comment.