Last Monday, Circulate San Diego released its report “Home Run for Homes” highlighting the success of our local and statewide Affordable Homes Bonus Program (AHBP).
In 2020, 44% of all homes entitled in San Diego were built in projects that used the AHBP. That’s a big deal and a shining example of how cities can increase density and bring down housing costs.
Circulate pushed for the local bonus program in 2016 and we co-sponsored the statewide legislation authored by former Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez in 2020.
Our staff organized a press conference Monday to announce the news. We were joined by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, Chelsea Investments, and many other nonprofit and business leaders.
A number of outlets carried the story, including CBS8, 10 News, KOGO, and KUSI. During this week’s Urban Land Institute Spring Meeting in San Diego, I presented our report at a panel titled “Legalize Housing: Innovative Housing Policies to Produce More Housing at All Income Levels.” This kind of publicity is key to promoting our region’s successes and driving the conversation for better housing and land use policies.
Will you join Circulate San Diego as a member to support more homes?
An extra special thank you goes to Alfred Twu, whose excellent illustrations are featured in the report.
Where do we go from here?
We must redouble our efforts to advocate at the state and local levels to continue updating and enhancing our density bonus laws, and increase subsidies for affordable homes. The AHBP offers greater flexibility in height, setback, and design requirements. The success of this program in San Diego now is available statewide bringing together the right coalitions to meet our housing and climate crises.
Special thank you to Home Run for Home’s sponsors:
Atlantis Group, Bird, Chelsea Investment Corporation, ColRich, Holland Partners, Malick Infill, San Diego Housing Commission, SPUR, and Trestle Build.
