As our regular readers know, we have been reporting on the ongoing homelessness in Arden Arcade. In doing so, we try to balance compassion (no one should have to live on the streets) with public safety matters (aggression, criminal acts, sanitation, disease, substance abuse) and community issues (trash, infrastructure, property values, local businesses). Homelessness sort of exploded in our community thanks to the 9th Circuit Court's Boise Decision, Covid, and other factors, including the region's elected officials' predisposition to walk away from both addressing affordable housing needs and providing shelter space. In June of 2024 the US Supreme Court reversed the Boise Decision, thereby enabling some measure of control over unrestricted homeless encampments.

It hasn't helped that our community is next door to a big city with a habit of disrespecting us by pushing its homeless problem to our borders. To be fair, our dear leaders at the County did little about it until fairly recently - the Hope Landing project on Howe, the South Sac Tiny Homes on Florin, the soon-to-open Safe Stay place on Watt and the new "flexible housing pool" (Emma Hall, "County introduces homeless pool to help connect homeless with solutions", Sacramento Bee, 01/20/2026) are examples of the County turning around. Sheriff Cooper has also put in his 2 cents worth by promising to enforce laws that might be broken within homeless communities. Indeed, his Sheriff's Deputies have taken action at some illegal campsites on public property.

While we acknowledge and appreciate the County's recent progress, private property has been an Achilles Heel for enforcement. Regular documentation on social media sites like Facebook and Nextdoor have pointed out that Sheriff's Deputies have not been effective at dealing with crime among the growing homeless population in the vicinity of Watt from Marconi to Country Club Plaza. Residences and businesses there have suffered, partially because the Sheriff's Deputies must have "Letters of Agency" (LOA) on file for the private property that needs law enforcement assistance. If there is something suspicious happening on private property (drug dealing or fighting, perhaps), the Deputies must first check their database to see if an LOA is on file for the site, a complication that frustrates the potential effectiveness of a 311 or 911 call for help. Compounding the problem, many of our local businesses are corporate-owned (Raley's, Jack-in-the-Box, etc.) or have out-of-area owners and/or property managers (Country Club Plaza, for example) that either do not know or care what goes on in our community. Further, the Sheriff's Deputies are spread out all over the area and may not be available to respond. As a result, unscrupulous homeless individuals (...remember, it's not all of them...) know they can get away with trashing businesses, camping where they feel like it, and doing illegal activites without any real consequences.

Last week the Board of Supervisors finally took action to to deal with encampments on vacant lots and business properties. In November 2025, Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez requested an ordinance change to close the illegal camping loophole. The changes were approved last week on the Board's Consent Calendar, meaning the Supervisors saw its approval as a no-brainer. Specifically, the revised ordinance will let Deputies tackle illegal encampments on private property by issuing verbal or written warnings, removing camping structures and equipment, and referring individuals to homeless services. The Advocates for Arden Arcade testified in favor of the ordinance changes. (As far as we know, that's the first time a local media entity has acknowledged our existence!)

Until the ordinance was revised, our local businesses have had to spend extra money on security, cameras and fencing just to keep their spaces safe for their customers and employees. Now they have a better chance of having laws enforced without harming their businesses. Aye, though, that's the rub, isn't it? We have written at length about the inadequacy of our law enforcement. We have said that laws are only as good as the enforcement that follows. Now, with the revised ordinance, we shall see whether the Sheriff and his team are up to the task. While we certainly wish them well, our eyes are tightly shut while we whisper to ourselves, "I hope, I hope, I hope."

What can you do about this? One option could be attending an upcoming Sheriff's meeting to ask whether the new rules will be enforced and how the Sheriff's Office intends to implement the stricter law. That's a way to help your public servants know your priorities.