Why participate in the infrastructure priorities process?

Infrastructure is not just the buildings, roads and spaces surrounding us—it is the essential fabric that connects us to opportunity. Our city's infrastructure - roads, sidewalks, parks, libraries, fire stations, water facilities and more - shapes the health, safety, economic vibrancy, environmental well-being and overall quality of life in our neighborhoods.

Because of this, equitable infrastructure investment is essential to achieving equal opportunity for employment, health, education, recreation and more for all San Diegans. The City wants your input to help prioritize infrastructure investment and ensure it goes where it best meets community members' needs and improves their lives.

What is Infrastructure?

When identifying areas for improvement within the city, it is important to distinguish between infrastructure and operational services to ensure that requests are directed to the appropriate City departments.

Infrastructure Projects

Infrastructure refers to the physical assets that support our community, such as:

• Constructing new sidewalks
• Installing new storm drains
• Expanding parks or libraries
• Building new public facilities

Typically, infrastructure projects involve detailed design plans and require long-term planning.

Operational Services

Operational services focus on the maintenance and day-to-day functioning of existing City facilities and services, including:

• Grinding down raised sections of existing sidewalks to improve accessibility and safety
• Repaving roadways/fixing potholes
• Adjusting park operation hours
• Ensuring library computers are available

These types of issues can often be resolved by maintenance crews or administrative adjustments.

If your concern involves a project requiring design plans, it is likely an infrastructure project. On the other hand, issues that can be addressed by a maintenance crew are considered operational. This initiative focuses on gathering ideas for infrastructure improvements. For operational service requests, please use the Get It Done app or Get It Done website.

It is important to note that not all infrastructure within the City of San Diego limits is owned or managed by the City. Transit-related infrastructure, such as trolleys, buses, or freeways, falls under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), or the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans). Other non-City assets, including those managed by federal agencies, postal offices, utility companies, and private organizations, are also outside the City’s control and should be directed to the appropriate entity for resolution.

How can you shape infrastructure in your community?

The process of gathering input on City infrastructure needs and priorities and the prioritization of Capital Improvement Program projects are guided by  City Council   000-32 and 800-14. In 2022, the City Council adopted updates to these policies to ensure that infrastructure is constructed to best meet people’s needs and improve their lives.

How will your project idea go through the infrastructure priorities process?

1. Year-Round: Community members can submit project ideas to the City Planning Department through various methods (e.g., in-person events, online survey, Community Planning Group, Public Spaces email, etc.).
2. August/September: Project ideas received throughout the year are grouped by type and sent to the responsible department. (e.g., Park improvement ideas go to the Parks and Recreation Department.)
3. Fall: Departments consider ideas as they prepare a five-year infrastructure plan based on factors such as operational feasibility, legal requirements, Council input, alignment with existing plans and policies, community input, funding opportunities, and prioritization factors in Council Policy 800-14, such as equity, sustainability, and public safety.
4. Winter: Plans are incorporated into the Citywide Five-Year Capital Infrastructure Planning Outlook, which summarizes the funding needs for the projects in each department plan.*

5. Spring: Once the Five-Year Capital Infrastructure Planning Outlook is adopted, the City publishes the infrastructure priorities summary report detailing each community’s priorities and which projects were included in the plan.

   *For more information about the CIP process, visit the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst and refer to A Citizen’s Guide to Infrastructure by the City of San Diego. To learn more about how the CIP budget is developed, visit the CIP budget webpage.

Past Project Ideas and Where They Are Now

CIP Outlook FY2025 – FY2029

Since the adoption of the Infrastructure Priorities Initiative in 2023, the City Planning Department has completed its first cycle of public engagement and reporting. This involved gathering over 1,200 project ideas from June 25 to August 15, 2023, through online surveys, in-person events, and emails from community members and Community Planning Groups. City Planning staff reviewed and categorized these ideas by asset type and forwarded them to relevant departments for evaluation. Departments provided feedback on whether projects were active, included in the CIP Outlook, or for future consideration. This feedback is now publicly accessible through:

• Infrastructure Priorities Summary Report
• Community Planning Group Input
  • University
  • Uptown

CIP Outlook FY2026 – FY2030

Project ideas submitted between August 16, 2023, and August 1, 2024, have been collected and forwarded to relevant departments for consideration in the FY2026–FY2030 CIP Outlook. Input from Community Planning Groups and the public is currently being reviewed by the relevant departments within the City. Below are project ideas provided by the Community Planning Groups. All other input provided by individuals will be included in the Infrastructure Priorities Report that will be released next year. If you would like to stay informed and receive updates, including notification when the FY2026–FY2030 Infrastructure Priorities Report is published, sign up for our constant contact list below.

Share your priorities for your community now!

To facilitate learning about Infrastructure Priorities,
easily sharable materials have been developed and are linked below.