Amid a statewide housing crisis that threatens to hinder California’s economic growth, Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer joined his fellow leaders on the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) on Sept. 6 to vote for future housing targets with the City of San Diego taking the lead for the region due to the City’s strength as a jobs center and its commitment to transit.
The City is embracing its responsibility to plan for 107,901 units of the region’s total future housing needs of 171,685 units over the next decade as recommended by SANDAG’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). The City of San Diego represents about 42 percent of the County of San Diego’s total population, 55 percent of the jobs and 67 percent of the transit. Under the methodology approved by SANDAG, the City of San Diego would be responsible for approximately 63 percent of all housing units allocated.
“We need to build more housing or we’re never going to get out of this statewide affordability crisis, and the City of San Diego is leading by example by planning for our future housing needs,” Mayor Faulconer said. “This decision is in line with the housing reforms we’re pushing to increase supply, lower costs and promote smart growth as we work to make sure that our children and grandchildren can afford to raise their families here just like we did.”
Since 2014, the City has completed 14 community plan updates, adding capacity for over 46,000 additional homes. On Tuesday, the City Council will consider the Mission Valley community plan update, which would add capacity for approximately 28,000 additional homes.
California state law requires all cities to adequately plan for future housing needs. The RHNA is an assessment process performed periodically to quantify the need for housing by income group in each jurisdiction throughout the state. The RHNA is used for land-use planning, to prioritize local resource allocation, and to help decide how to address existing and future housing needs. 
In July 2018, SANDAG received the RHNA Determination from the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development, projecting the number of housing units needed in the region for the upcoming housing cycle from 2021 to 2029. As the Council of Governments for the San Diego region, SANDAG is responsible for developing a methodology for allocating the regional housing needs among the region’s 18 cities and county. The methodology must distribute each jurisdiction’s housing unit allocation among the four income categories – low, very-low, moderate and above moderate – and further the objectives set forth in state law.