The San Diego County Board of Supervisors and the City of San Diego unanimously approved a resolution to construct 10,000 affordable housing units using government land.
The two entities have not formally met on the issue in more than 22 years. The resolution also agreed to use available funding for housing and explore residential density options. The meeting was held Monday at San Diego State University in Montezuma Hall.
Their goal is to construct the agreed-upon affordable housing units by 2030. According to elected officials, the San Diego Housing Commission currently has 22,000 units in service but is exploring ways to add more to the 4,120 properties it owns.
“The resolution the county and city passed allows us to drive toward an ambitious goal of building more affordable housing in the region and puts us in alignment with how to achieve it,” said Nathan Fletcher, chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. “This was another important step in strengthening our relationship with the city of San Diego. I hope the other 17 jurisdictions and numerous agencies see this as motivation to join us as we work to build 10,000 units of housing on government land by 2030.
The resolution calls for supporting four major actions:
- Support efforts that accelerate housing production
- Building 10,000 affordable homes on government-owned land near transit lines, that also support climate action goals and offer construction workers good-paying jobs
- Leveraging public, private and other funds to speed up the availability of affordable housing
- Increasing density on properties owned by the San Diego Housing Commission or its nonprofit affiliate
According to the county, more than 50 people spoke about the housing crisis and more than 150 people attended the meeting. The City of San Diego Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, who led the summit with San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairman Nathan Fletcher, noted that Stable housing is the foundation of opportunity, and instability with respect to housing has profound impacts.”
“We have a responsibility to make housing stable and fulfilling that responsibility will require collaboration.”
With Supervisor Jim Desmond absent, four of the five members of the Board of Supervisors voted for the resolution. Councilwoman Vivian Moreno was absent, leaving eight of the nine City council members to vote in favor of the resolution.
The San Diego Foundation is developing a Graphic Information Systems mapping tool to open parcels on public land in the cities of San Diego and Chula Vista, the County, and excess state lands that could be developed for affordable housing. The parcels will be assessed on the quality of life, the ease of building housing, land use, and transit, among other qualities.
The nonprofit's Housing Impact Fund has committed a $10 million commitment to raise an additional $90 million to address housing needs.
