River Of Shame
City abandons district that suffers too much
By Jeff Harris
December 2025
Have you visited the River District? You may not want to return.
The River District runs off Richards Boulevard, north of the Downtown Railyards. Loaves & Fishes, renowned for charitable work with unhoused people, calls the district home.
But for many, the River District is another kind of home. One square mile hosts 26% of the county’s homeless population and 60% of its homeless service providers. Not surprisingly, this concentration leaves the neighborhood a mess.
Impacts are everywhere in the River District. Street encampments, trash, human feces, drug use and poverty are daily realities, all in plain sight. Running a business there is very difficult.
In 1989, merchants and business owners pressured city leaders to adopt a resolution limiting new shelter beds in the River District. Over time, the city ignored the resolution. In March, the City Council rescinded the resolution, allowing more beds.
Now the city’s Department of Community Response wants to open a campground to serve more than 100 people in the River District. Residents and business owners feel sold out.
Devin Strecker, executive director of the River District Property and Business Improvement District, says, “Rescinding our resolution and placing a tent encampment in the River District is a betrayal by the city. It places undue hardship on our residents. We have asked Councilman Phil Pluckebaum to bring back an ordinance preventing more unfair concentration of shelters and service providers to our area.”
When the City Council voted in March to rescind the resolution, Pluckebaum was absent.
Kent Lacin, a neighborhood business owner for 35 years says, “The standard promise the city and county always make is, ‘If you let us increase the shelter beds in the River District, it will significantly reduce the number of homeless living on your streets.’ Unfortunately, this never happens. The number of homeless living on our streets has increased.”
Ahmed Hamdy, president of the River District improvement board, notes the City Council rescinded the old resolution by consent—meaning there was no discussion.
He calls the move “sneaky” and adds, “The city has made conditions for us untenable and caused us harm. Businesses are closing and contemplating litigation against the city. The enforcement of ordinances in our area are not in proportion to the violations here.”
Why is the homeless population concentrated in the River District? It began with Loaves & Fishes. Opened in 1983 as a soup kitchen, the charity was located away from populous areas Downtown.
Four decades ago, most unhoused people lived along the American River Parkway. The impact from Loaves & Fishes was isolated in a neighborhood filled with warehouses. The model was considered compassionate.
But things changed. The homeless population grew, with drug addiction and mental infirmities far more common.
Crime increased, perpetrated by homeless people and against them. A culture developed where many homeless folks refused services and made the streets their permanent home.
The district changed too, attracting new offices, businesses and homeowners.
Now the mission of feeding people can be seen as enabling. And as Loaves & Fishes grew, other homeless services moved in nearby.
When I represented the River District on the City Council, I asked Loaves & Fishes to change its practices and get more involved with solving homelessness. The charity’s leaders weren’t interested.
Enough is enough. The River District is beleaguered. The city needs to bring back the ordinance, order more enforcement and protect this front door to Downtown from more degradation.
Jeff Harris represented District 3 on City Council from 2014 to 2022. He can be reached at cadence@mycci.net. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
