A new Regional Equitable Housing Subcommittee has been established to connect representatives from different municipalities across the county with San Diego Association of Governments, the region’s public planning, transportation, and research agency, to identify housing approaches that address needs throughout the county.
The county is on track to build just 10% of the affordable housing it needs for residents, San Diego County District 3 Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer said to fellow committee members at a Feb. 1 meeting.
“The housing shortage is driving up home prices and putting an entire generation of San Diegans at risk of being left behind,” Lawson-Remer said, as well as negatively impacting the climate crisis with residents pushed out from the epicenter of the city with increased commute times.
Three options are at hand, she said: continue as is and watch the situation get worse, build “the wrong houses in the wrong places with McMansions from here to Anza-Borrego”, or work together to build housing that fits diverse communities.
SANDAG Principal Regional Planner Tuere Fa’aola shared a chart of new building permits spanning the years from 1970 through 2017. They clearly show that new housing has actually decreased over time, leaving a shortfall of 54,000 units— the county would need to build over 11,000 units each year just to keep up with population growth, a need that is not being met.
The Regional Housing Needs Assessment plan promotes infill development, emphasizes equitable housing development and promotes emissions reduction, and is designed to reflect and work in conjunction with the larger 2021 Regional Plan that calls for a sustainable communities strategy and emphasizes reduced emissions through better public transportation planning.
SANDAG’s Board of Directors adopted the RHNA plan in July 2020 with $6.8 million in state grant funds allocated for planning with non-profit partners.
Fa’aola did not specify exactly how that sum was spent or which non-profit partners were involved in the planning process.
“We anticipate our next round of funding to be $43 million and one of the things we’re looking forward to is being able to put some of that funding to achieve some of the housing goals,” Fa’aola said.
During time for public comments, former California State Assembly District 76 representative Lori Saldaña said she had an opportunity to visit many forms of affordable housing while in office and believes there is much to be learned about “very innovative and creative, cost-effective ways to house people” outside the county.
Some demographics come with an added burden of homelessness such as residents who have lived in the county for their entire lives yet cannot afford to do so as retirees, potentially disabled, on a fixed income.
Additionally, she said, 5% of San Diegans identify as Black or African-American, yet over 20% of homeless residents identify as such, indicating that cohort of residents is disproportionately affected.
The next REHS meeting date is not yet established but is being planned for March.
There is also a Housing Policy Forum scheduled for Feb. 15 that anyone can attend to learn more about where the county stands with housing and legislation, and a new section of Housing Policy Leadership Academy begins in March.
Visit www.sandag.org for more information on the subcommittee.
