FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
March 15, 2024

CONTACT:
MayorPress@sandiego.gov

SAN DIEGO – In his latest step to build more housing faster and reduce housing costs, Mayor Todd Gloria today announced the launch of the City’s new “Complete Communities Now” program, which requires all relevant city departments to review housing projects that fall under the Complete Communities program within 30 days.  

The program comes as a result of the executive order signed by Mayor Gloria ahead of his State of the City address this past January.

“As a renter myself, I keenly understand the housing crisis we’re in – the rent is too high, and homeownership is seemingly unattainable. We change this by building a lot more housing and getting shovels in the ground as quickly as possible,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “Complete Communities is already a popular program, and my executive order to dramatically cut permitting time will make it even more attractive to home builders.”

Complete Communities is a multifaceted program that encourages development projects near public transportation that combine housing, mobility, parks and infrastructure.

The City’s commitment to streamlining these permits is intended to incentivize further housing development. Since Complete Communities was adopted in December 2020, the City has issued 22 building permits to create 1,600 homes, including 280 affordable homes, under the program.  

“Many San Diegans struggle with the high cost of housing, and I am committed to making our city more affordable for our residents,” said Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, who represents District 3. “Complete Communities Now accelerates our efforts to provide affordable housing options for all San Diegans so that people can use more of their income for other important purposes.”

“As chair of the Land Use and Housing Committee, I am committed to working with Mayor Gloria to implement pro-housing policies,” said City Councilmember Kent Lee, who represents District 6. “San Diego needs to triple its current housing production to meet its annual need, and we are working to spur more housing projects across the city.”

Affordable Housing Executive Order
January’s executive order was the second in two years issued by Mayor Gloria to speed up the construction of more housing. Last year, he signed an order requiring the City to cut processing times for 100% affordable housing projects from a several months to no more than 30 days.

In response, DSD created the Affordable Housing Permit Now program. Over the program’s first year, projects have been fully reviewed in nine days, on average. To date, Affordable Housing Permit Now has fast-tracked 21 projects, totaling 2,356 new affordable homes, with another 478 in process. Of the permitted projects, 13 are already under construction, totaling 1,700 units.

The program helped make 2023 a banner year for housing in San Diego.

Today, Mayor Gloria announced that the City issued permits for 9,691 new homes – a roughly 82% increase over the prior year and the highest total since at least 2005.

These efforts to streamlining permitting are part of the Mayor’s comprehensive strategy to address San Diego’s housing-affordability crisis, which includes two Housing Action Packages and the Bridge to Home program, which provides gap-financing assistance to help affordable-housing builders get their projects across the finish line. The Mayor’s comprehensive strategy prompted the State of California to officially designate San Diego as a “Pro-housing City.”

“Complete Communities Now builds on Mayor Gloria’s recently approved Housing Action Package 2.0 to incentivize the construction of a wide variety of housing types to meet the needs of San Diego families and individuals struggling under the weight of the housing crisis,” said Lori Holt Pfeiler, president and CEO of the Building Industry of San Diego County.

 Community Plan Updates
In addition to the Complete Communities Now program, the City this week released final drafts of community plan updates for Hillcrest and University City, as well as a final draft of Blueprint SD, which serves as the City’s guiding framework for community plan updates and the long-term future growth and development of the City.

Under Mayor Gloria’s administration, the City has completed community plan updates for Mira Mesa and Barrio Logan; updates for the College Area, Clairemont and Mid-City communities are underway. Together, the community plan updates will dramatically increase capacity for new housing growth near public transit. 

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