FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022

CONTACT:
MayorPress@sandiego.gov

SAN DIEGO As part of his commitment to build more housing that San Diegans can actually afford, Mayor Todd Gloria secured City Council approval today on a major piece of his Homes For All of Us initiative the first of multiple Housing Action Packages that take a comprehensive approach to creating more housing.

The failure to create new homes to accommodate the population growth we have long known was coming has been disastrous for our families, regional economy and quality of life. Thats why we are responding aggressively to this issue, with policy changes and programs that will help us build more housing at prices that are reasonable for our residents, Mayor Todd Gloria said. I thank the City Council for approving this sensible package of reforms to meaningfully address our housing shortage.

We must create opportunities for everyone to access housing, said City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera. Homes For All of Us addresses our deepening housing crisis by providing more affordable homes to San Diegans and creating more opportunities for middle- and low-income families to benefit from living in high-opportunity neighborhoods. While our housing crisis cannot and will not be solved overnight, Homes For All of Us will help us turn the tide on an issue that is impacting so many San Diego families.

As housing prices and rents continue to rise, we must take action to ensure that San Diegans have housing opportunities that accommodate their needs, added City Councilmember Vivian Moreno, chair of the Councils Land Use and Housing Committee. The Homes For All of Us housing package contains critical updates to our city regulations that will allow more housing to be built for people of all income levels. Anything we can do to incentivize production of units for moderate income families particularly those with more than two bedrooms -- is critical, because we need to make sure that people like teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers, librarians, and many others have access to housing across every community in our city.

Homes for All of Us, which Mayor Gloria announced in July, features multiple Housing Action Packages, each consisting of a suite of amendments to City development regulations and property use that speed up housing production. The items in the first Housing Action Package, approved by the City Council today, include the following reforms:

• Senate Bill 9 implementation: Implements the state law allowing the split of a single-family lot into twolots, and permitting up to two new homeson each lot. The Citys implementation is aimed at preserving neighborhood quality while providing more opportunities for affordable housing in all communities.

• Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance amendments: Amends the Citys existing ADU ordinance to make it consistent with SB 9 on privacy, landscapingand development impact fees.

• Housing at City facilities: Streamlines the process for building affordable and middle-income homes on City-owned sites.

• Affordable housing in all communities: Encourages affordable housing construction in communities with little to no affordable housing. To meet the Citys climate and equity goals, the homes must be built near transit and in high resource areas areas close to good-paying jobs that have low levels of air and water pollution and a high educational achievement.

• Employee Housing Incentive Program: Provides incentives for non-residential developments to pay into a San Diego Housing Commission fund that will be used to develop affordable homes.

• Live/work flexibility: Currently, the City allows for the development of live/work units that function as both a home and place of business. This proposal would further facilitate the production of live/work units to allow for more work-from-home and telework opportunities.

• Housing Accessibility Program: Provides incentives to include more accessible housing for people with disabilities, with adequate space in kitchens and bathrooms and accessible routes throughout the building. As San Diegos population ages, creating accessible homes is an important way to ensure more residents can remain and live independently in San Diego.

• Housing for families: Provides incentives for multifamily housing developments to build homes with three or more bedrooms to ensure that families of all sizes have opportunities for housing.

A second Housing Action Package will begin to move through the Citys approval process shortly. It will include an opt-in to Senate Bill 10, which will make it easier to build apartments close to mass transit, as well as recommendations from Mayor Glorias Middle-Income Housing Working Group and additional amendments to the Citys Land Development Code related to the production of housing.

Homes For All of Us also includes Blueprint SD, which is a new approach for the City of San Diegos community planning process that will align with climate and housing goals.

What others are saying:

Stephen Russell, president and CEO of San Diego Housing Federation:

The creation of new housing in all communities, and at all income levels, is critical to our region solving the challenge of homelessness and in creating a more equitable city for residents throughout San Diego. This package addresses the inequities of the past while also ensuring that kids, young adults and seniors who call San Diego home can continue to do so.

Holt Pfeiler, president and CEO of the Building Industry Association of San Diego County:

Homes For All of Us: That is what will build a healthy, engaged community. When families have stable housing, they can focus on their neighborhood, their community they will know their neighbors, they will know what their civic government is discussing, their children will be attend the same school. Mayor Todd Glorias Housing Action Package will provide more opportunities for families to achieve that stable housing: access to housing, more housing affordable to middle-income families and making it easier for builders to bring the housing to fruition more quickly.

Angeli Calinog, policy advisor at the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce:

Addressing the housing shortage is key to supporting our thriving economy and is one of the Chambers top priorities. Mayor Todd Glorias Homes For All of Us initiative will provide all San Diegans more opportunities to live and work here, at a time when we need every innovative idea in the toolbox to build more housing quickly and efficiently. We commend Mayor Gloria and his leadership team for bringing forward a proposal that incentivizes housing for all levels of income and for making space for the business community to be part of the solution.

Marissa Tucker-Borquez, president of YIMBY Dems of San Diego County:

I want to applaud the City Council for passing the Mayors Housing Action Package, which will help encourage building much-needed affordable housing near good schools and jobs, increasing access and upward mobility for all San Diegans. Homes For All of Us will also help increase the supply of middle-income housing so that our teachers, fire fighters, nurses and our city workers can find a home in San Diego, reducing burdensome commutes.

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