Homeless advocates say they have rights to the property. They suggest that the county is double dealing.
Reality is a little more complicated than that.
To meet federal guidelines that required local governments to give priority in base conversion plans to charities that served the homeless, in 1998 the county signed an agreement with Sacramento Cottage Housing Inc. to convert McClellan Inn into a transitional housing facility for the homeless. A nearby pizzeria also on the base was to be operated as a job training site for Cottage Housing's formerly homeless clients. The county also agreed to provide base facilities to the Sacramento Food Bank Services and the Wind Youth Center for Homeless Kids. McClellan Business Park includes the McClellan Inn in its marketing materials. Given that, Sacramento Cottage Housing officials fear that the county will deliberately underestimate the charity's fiscal viability when it evaluates the charity's finances and thus escape its obligation to them.