PRESS RELEASE
City of San Diego Authorizes Desperately Needed Additional Housing In University City
Contact: Will Moore, Policy Counsel, Circulate San Diego - 858-210-7999 | [email protected]
Today, on July 30, 2024, the San Diego City Council adopted a major update to the decades-old University Community Plan. The new plan builds on the growth of San Diego’s biotech and communications industry hubs and allows for desperately needed housing in the University City Neighborhood. This new University Community Plan allows for approximately 30,000 potential additional homes and approximately 60,000 new potential new jobs in coming years.
Circulate, alongside its allies, has championed updating this plan to address the urgent need for increased homes and access to transit in our region. Circulate’s report "Making the Most of The Mid-Coast Trolley" highlighted the significant benefits the University City community could enjoy from expanding housing options in the area. Adding capacity for jobs and homes is essential to getting the economic, climate, and equity benefits of the $2.2 billion investment in the Mid-Coast Trolley.
While this updated plan authorizes twice as much housing capacity in the area, these plans are usually updated on thirty-year time-frames. Over such a time span, that represents only a 2.4% rate of annual growth.
The City’s Environmental Impact Report concluded that a higher-density option, which would have added even more housing capacity, would have been the "environmentally superior alternative." A broad, demographically representative sample of 2,600 residents were surveyed in 2021 and overwhelmingly supported that more robust alternative. Circulate and other community groups promoted that alternative over the past three years. Sadly, the City shrunk from the opportunity to adopt that more aggressive option.
Nonetheless, the adopted new plan represents a major step forward. University City will be a pivotal regional hub for San Diego for generations to come. Circulate is heartened to see that the newly-adopted University Community Plan reflects this reality.
Will Moore, Policy Director of Circulate San Diego, said that “Ultimately, this University Community Plan Update is a major victory for the region. It takes advantage of our substantial infrastructure investments, making the most of the Mid-Coast trolley. In the long term, this update will make San Diego a better place for our both leading industries and the families in our community.”
A downloadable copy of this Press Release is available here.
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About Circulate San Diego
Circulate San Diego is a regional nonprofit think tank dedicated to advancing mobility and making the region a better place to move, work, learn and play. Our work focuses on creating great mobility choices, more walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, and land uses that promote sustainable growth. For more information, go to www.circulatesd.org.
News Hits
San Diego City Council approves plans for more housing in Hillcrest, University City, NBC 7, July 30, 2024
