To address a statewide housing crisis on the local level, Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer was joined June 21 by City Council members Scott Sherman and Chris Ward and housing advocates to call for the adoption of the “Housing SD” plan \u2013 a set of proposals\u00a0that would increase housing supply, lower costs and promote smart growth to address the lack of housing affordability for low- and middle-income San Diegans.
\nMore than 70 percent of San Diegans can\u2019t afford to buy a house at the county\u2019s median home cost of more than $500,000 \u2013 making San Diego one of the least affordable\u00a0markets in the country.
\nTo address the shortage of affordable homes, the “Housing SD” plan would implement strategies to:
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Spur the construction of low-income and middle-class housing through incentives;
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Streamline development standards and speed up the review process;
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Direct funding toward affordable housing; and
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Encourage growth in transit-friendly areas, which also supports the goals of the Climate Action\u00a0Plan.\u00a0
\n“The housing affordability crisis is the top issue facing our city that is literally forcing the next generation of San Diegans to move outside the region,” said Sherman, chair of the City Council\u2019s Smart Growth and Land Use Committee. The “Housing SD” plan consists of a dozen proposals to be implemented over the next year, with several going before\u00a0the City Council this summer and fall. Highlights include:
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Middle Income Density Bonus Program\u00a0\u2013 Creating a program to give incentives for developers to construct housing projects that provide units that can be sold or rented to entry-level\/middle-income households. Estimated completion date: winter 2019.
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Affordable\/Sustainable Expedite Program\u00a0\u2013 Revising the existing program to incorporate new City initiatives, address prior City Council direction and improve service delivery where qualifying projects can have their discretionary and ministerial permits expedited. Summer 2017.
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Companion (Second Dwelling) Unit Production\u00a0\u2013 Changing the municipal code to implement state mandates reducing requirements for parking, fees and permits as well as further changes to help promote the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units. Summer 2017.
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Affordable Housing Density Bonus Program Update\u00a0\u2013 Updating City regulations to reflect changes in state law and additional code changes to further incentivize the use of this housing tool to increase the production of more affordable units. Winter 2018.
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Updates to the Land Development Code (11th\u00a0Code Update)\u00a0\u2013 Several code amendments to streamline the development review process, including the expansion of live\/work quarters and certain exemptions for designated historic structures. Fall 2017.
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Streamlined Environmental Review\u00a0\u2013 Developing a checklist and compliance document to simplify use and ensure consistency in application of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15183, which allows a streamlined review process for public and private development projects that are consistent with the densities established by existing zoning, community plan or general plan policies for which an Environmental Impact Report was certified. Winter 2018.
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Development Impact Fee (DIF) Calculations\u00a0\u2013 Reviewing and recommending a preferred methodology for calculating DIF, which are fees on new development to offset future costs derived by residents and employees that will require public facilities such as fire stations, libraries, parks and roads, etc. For example, a flat residential rate is applied to each new residential unit, regardless of unit size. As a result, smaller and more affordable units pay disproportionately more in DIF than larger units. Winter 2018.
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Parks Master Plan\u00a0\u2013 Creating a new master plan for San Diego\u2019s park system for the first time in more than 60 years. The plan would develop an implementation plan for prioritizing, phasing and funding of projects; identify high priority sites for parkland acquisition, design and development; and address needs in the current system and emerging trends for the future, among other things. Fall 2019.
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Transit Priority Area Parking Standards\u00a0\u2013 Revising parking standards within Transit Priority Areas so the City is not unnecessarily requiring excessive parking in development projects. Parking spaces add significantly to the cost of building homes, which translates to increased sales prices or higher monthly rents. Fall 2018.
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Implementation of SB743 and Vehicle Miles Travelled\u00a0(VMT) \u2013 Developing VMT thresholds and preparing the necessary environmental review process to comply with SB743, which reformed the CEQA analysis from level of service to VMT. Summer 2018.
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Housing Successor Fund and Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA)\u00a0\u2013 Awarding $25 million to help fund affordable housing developments targeting households demonstrating low to extremely low income. The City and Civic San Diego announced the NOFA in February 2017 and the funding will be used to support the acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction of housing that will provide long-term affordability. Fall 2017.
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Transit Oriented Development Fund\u00a0\u2013 Using $20 million in San Diego Housing Commission and Civic San Diego assets to create a transit-oriented development fund that would leverage those public assets at a 3:1 ratio to provide finance options that are currently unavailable or scarce. Fall 2017.
\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Housing Inventory Annual Report\u00a0\u2013 Developing an annual report that compiles information on San Diego\u2019s housing inventory and greater housing outlook to better understand the crisis in the short term and help develop strategies that produce results in the long term. Summer 2017.
\nThis plan follows several operational changes the City has made in recent years in its Development Services and Planning departments to speed up the project review process and complete community plan updates at a record pace. The City also expanded its Affordable Housing Density Bonus Program last year to incentivize developers to include more affordable units in projects.
\n“The state\u2019s housing shortage and the unaffordable housing market it spawned has left the dream of homeownership out of reach for the majority of San Diegans,” said Faulconer, who made the announcement at the COMM22 affordable housing complex in Logan Heights. “The only way to change that is to build more housing that people can actually afford.”
\n“Housing costs spiraling out of control impacts everyone, and everything we aspire to accomplish as a city,” said Ward. “These proposals are an important jumping off point to ensure we provide all the housing opportunities San Diegans need to succeed and thrive here.”
\nMary Lydon, executive director of the “Housing You Matters” Coalition: “The growing alignment and cooperation around our housing affordability crisis is a major accomplishment in and of itself. Now that so many are on the same page we can work together to find the solutions.”<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
To address a statewide housing crisis on the local level, Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer was joined June 21 by City Council members Scott Sherman and Chris Ward and housing advocates to call for the adoption of the “Housing SD” plan \u2013 a set of proposals\u00a0that would increase housing supply, lower costs and promote smart growth […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":267345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11559","_seopress_titles_title":"Mayor, council members unveil plan to increase affordable housing in San Diego","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11559,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-267344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beach-bay-press","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}