San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria's ambitious housing action package aimed at increasing housing inventory at all levels was struck down by the city council on Monday night.
After the marathon seven-hour council meeting that went on until 8 p.m., the San Diego City Council ultimately voted not to move forward with what had been described as the Housing Action Package 2.0. The plan, spearheaded by Gloria, included a series of proposals aimed at increasing housing supply for all income levels around San Diego. Some elements incentivized the building of off-campus student housing and accessory dwelling units for people with disabilities. Other pieces eliminated parking requirements for certain projects, called for rezoning of commercial and residential areas to build affordable housing, and encouraged the creation of single-room occupancy [SRO] homes with shared kitchens.
Almost 100 public commenters weighed in at the meeting, split evenly between residents opposed to the package and those who supported it.
"We’re here today to show our support for the Housing Action Package 2.0 because it's really key and crucial for solving the housing crisis, which is particularly experienced by youth," said Nicole Lillie, a UCSD student. "We have youth who are living in walk-in closets in order to afford to stay near campus."
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Some residents expressed concerns about proposals aimed at reducing the number of parking spots in developments that were close to current or future planned transit stops.
"A lot of these housing units have no parking," said Peggy Frye, a Mission Hills resident. "that is amazing to me. No parking, so they can park in our neighborhood, but they have to lug their groceries to wherever. It makes no sense to me."
Other San Diegans commented that they were worried about the character of San Diego neighborhoods dramatically changing as a result of HAP 2.0.
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"We see what's happening in our neighborhoods is a takedown of family homes, and the developers are coming in and encroaching on all of our neighborhoods," said Karen Ebner, a Mission Hills resident.
Dozens of other San Diegans, however, said the proposal was a step in the right direction to bring more housing supply to San Diego, which could in turn lower prices and make living more affordable.
"I’m here to support the Mayor's Housing Action Package 2.0," said Saad Asad with YIMBY Democrats. "It adds a lot of opportunities for new housing to be built in San Diego, and a recent report said that San Diego is the most expensive place to live in the United States, so it’s a great opportunity to add more opportunities to build housing that we sorely need."
After hours of public comment, council members began to weigh in. One of the most controversial elements of the package was amending the way the Complete Communities program works, which had required developers to build affordable housing on the same site as market-rate housing. The new package would have amended that program and allowed developers to build low-income housing in a different location from the market-rate housing that was being constructed.
That concept drew criticism from Council president pro-tem Monica Montgomery-Steppe. City Council president Sean Elo-Rivera, however, proposed an amendment that would have required the low-income housing be built in the same community planning area as the market rate housing, under the theory that it would prevent certain neighborhoods in the city from becoming the location of the majority of the new low-income housing.
The council vote on Elo-Rivera's proposal was tied 4-4, with councilmember Raul Campillo absent from Monday night's meeting.
Some council members expressed concerns about the amendment being proposed with little time to review it. The council then attempted to vote on the original package. The final vote on that package was 5 votes opposing the package, with 3 votes supporting it. Councilmembers Stephen Whitburn, Marni von Wilpert and Vivian Moreno all voted to support it.
In August, the city’s planning commission considered Gloria’s Housing Action Package 2.0 but recommended that one of the elements be removed from consideration before it went to full council. That was the implementation of SB 10, a controversial statewide law that would have allowed for up to 10 housing units to be built on a single-family home plot. The planning commission recommended that there be a working group established to consider the pros and cons of implementing the law in San Diego, which drew a lot of criticism from San Diegans.
In response to council's vote, Mayor Todd Gloria said in a statement sent to NBC7:
"Let’s be really clear: the lack of affordable housing in San Diego is central to nearly every challenge we face as a city. Homelessness. High cost-of-living. Recruiting and retaining talent, young people, and businesses. There’s only one way to address this: Build. More. Homes.
We put forward reforms that would build more homes for the homeless, seniors, students and the middle-class. I know people are hurting today and making decisions about their tomorrow here in San Diego. That’s why I’m undeterred in passing this Housing Action Package.
HAP 2.0 is a number of common-sense policies to get more housing built faster. I will review the city council’s comments on these proposed reforms and anticipate earning majority support for them when this item returns for consideration in the near future."
