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Fair Share
Report Summary
The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program (AHSC) seeks to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by financing new affordable homes and improvements to greener transportation infrastructure. AHSC funds are prioritized in disadvantaged and low-income communities, investing in the health and quality of life of residents who benefit most from investments in affordable homes and the reduction of GHG emissions.
Unfortunately, San Diego has underperformed compared to other large and urban regions in California in its ability to bring in AHSC funds for disadvantaged and low-income communities. Local jurisdictions have an important role to support applicants and bring this funding to San Diego. Cities, counties, and other agencies have the ability to provide technical assistance and pro-actively support potential AHSC applicants to increase their chance of qualifying for these multi-million dollar grants.
This report reviews best practices from various agencies across the state and outlines steps that local jurisdictions, transit agencies, Local Housing Finance Agencies, and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) can take to attract statewide investment into the San Diego region. Recommendations for local agencies include:
- Identify lead departments and prioritize inter-agency coordination to seek AHSC dollars
- Provide technical assistance and websites to efficiently support AHSC applicants
- Prioritize AHSC-eligible projects with available local funds for affordable homes
- Prepare a pipeline of transportation projects that can be paired with AHSC-eligible affordable housing projects
Local jurisdictions and transportation agencies have an important role in securing more AHSC funding for our region. San Diego can look to other successful regions and adopt their best practices. By acting strategically, the region can secure its fair share of benefits from the AHSC program.
Read morePress
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Housing Advocates Release Report Detailing Funding Shortage In San Diego,
KPBS, January 27, 2020 -
Report: San Diego missed out on $14M for affordable housing because of miscommunication,
Fox 5 San Diego, January 27, 2020 -
San Diego not cashing in on affordable housing dollars, report says,
ABC 10 News San Diego, January 27, 2020 -
San Diego region missing out on millions in state housing and transportation funding, report finds,
San Diego Union Tribune, January 27, 2020
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Essential Transit
Report Summary
During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, San Diego’s essential workers rely on public transportation. Our trains and buses are providing essential transit services that help our region survive today’s pandemic.
Circulate San Diego utilized data provided by the national advocacy organization TransitCenter to determine how many transit riders rely on transit to get to essential jobs in the San Diego region. These figures show just how vital the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and North County Transit District (NCTD) are for getting us through this pandemic.
Nationally, 2.8 million people who work in industries deemed essential in our battle against coronavirus commute daily by transit. This is more than a third of total riders during normal times. According to the 2018 ACS data, nearly 16,000 essential workers in the San Diego region commute to work on the region’s buses, trains, and ferries every day. This comprises 35 percent of those who normally commute aboard MTS and NCTD vehicles.
While MTS and NCTD have experienced ridership declines, San Diego’s transit agencies continue to carry a significant portion of essential commuters. MTS buses are carrying 30 percent of usual ridership and the trolley carries 40 percent of usual ridership. NCTD is currently carrying 27 percent of usual riders.
It is crucial to ensure essential San Diego industries can persevere and provide essential services to all San Diegans. Officials must continue to prioritize transit as an essential component of the transportation network.
Read morePress
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San Diego Study: Transit Remains Essential for Essential Workers
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Streetsblog Cal. April 23, 2020 -
Report Finds 16,000 Essential Workers Use Mass Transit Daily
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Times of San Diego. April 23, 2020. -
Despite decreased ridership, continuing mass transit crucial for essential workers
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SDNews. April 29, 2020 -
Despite decreased ridership, group says continuing mass public transit is crucial for essential workers
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San Diego Downtown News. May 1, 2020
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Good Bargain
Report Summary
The City of San Diego’s new Affordable Homes Bonus Program (AHBP) created a surge in project approvals, and is set to produce more market-rate and affordable homes.
For more than a decade, California’s Density Bonus Law has been a policy designed to offer developers a bargain–if they set aside some units as affordable, they can build more units overall. Specifically, California’s Density Bonus currently allows a residential developer to build 35 percent more units than allowed by base zoning, if the developer agrees to set-aside up to 11 percent of the base density units as permanently affordable.
Proposed by Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s administration, San Diego’s AHBP was supported by a broad coalition led by Circulate San Diego and was approved unanimously by the San Diego City Council in August 2016. The new AHBP builds on the existing California Density Bonus Law and allows for a maximum of 50 percent more bonus units, if a residential developer chooses to set-aside up to 15 percent of the base density units as affordable.
This report contains an analysis of 20 months of entitlement data under the AHBP from the City of San Diego’s Housing Commission and Development Services Department. That entitlement data was compared to 12 years of production under the City’s implementation of California Density Bonus Law.
City data shows that the new AHBP is creating substantially more homes than California Density Bonus Law alone, with annual increases for entitlements including:
- 490 percent increase for the number of projects applying to use the program
- 551 percent increase for the number of deed-restricted affordable homes entitled
- 356 percent increase for combined affordable and market-rate homes entitled
The AHBP is an example of successful city-wide policymaking. San Diego should continue to monitor and expand the program to ensure its continued success.
Beyond San Diego, this report can help decisionmakers recognize the potential of enhancements to current California Density Bonus Law, to expand the bargain of trading development capacity for new affordable homes. For example, in February 2020, Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez proposed Assembly Bill 2345, to extend San Diego’s AHBP to the rest of California. Individual jurisdictions should also consider their own enhancements, to go above and beyond what California law may offer.
Read morePress
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Report: City’s Housing Program Working To Build More Affordable Housing
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KPBS, May 19, 2020 -
San Diego’s Affordable Housing Policy ‘Really Working,’ Report Claims
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Times of San Diego, May 19, 2020 -
Gonzalez Bill Would Take San Diego Development Boost Statewide
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Voice of San Diego, May 22, 2020
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Circulate Webmaster published Equity and Climate for Homes in Policy Reports 2022-02-22 14:59:22 -0800
Equity and Climate for Homes
Report Summary
The City of San Diego’s Affordable Homes Bonus Program (AHBP) has demonstrated continued success with a surge of new market-rate and affordable homes, primarily in Transit Priority Areas and high opportunity locations.
The AHBP allows developers who build a percentage of their developments as deed-restricted affordable to receive added development capacity and other incentives that make it easier to build. Proposed by Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s administration, San Diego’s AHBP was supported by a broad coalition led by Circulate San Diego, and was approved unanimously by the San Diego City Council in August 2016.
California Density Bonus Law allows for a maximum of 35 percent density bonus, depending on the amount of affordable homes provided. The new AHBP builds on the existing California Density Bonus Law and allows for a maximum of 50 percent density bonus, going above and beyond what was once allowed.
A prior analysis by Circulate San Diego found that the AHBP had entitled substantially more projects on an annual basis than the predecessor California Density Bonus program. The AHBP also helps affordable housing developers maximize the benefits of public funding by allowing bonus units above the base density, resulting in more deed-restricted affordable homes than would be produced otherwise.
The AHBP bonuses apply equally to all properties that are zoned for multi-family development in the City of San Diego. However, the projects entitled through the AHBP have been disproportionately located near transit, and in high opportunity areas. The top-line findings are as follows:
- 63 percent of AHBP projects are located in high and highest resource Census tracts in the City of San Diego.
- 97 percent of AHBP projects are located within a half-mile of a high performing transit stop.
Read morePress
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Daily Briefing: Pacific Beach Town Council, helps trash pick up, new President for Rotary Club of La Jolla, outside classes at Liberty Station
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San Diego Community Newspaper Group, July 16, 2020 -
Transit Hubs Get Most Housing Under San Diego’s Affordable Homes Program
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Times of San Diego, July 16, 2020
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Circulate Webmaster published Memorandum: Permissible Expenditures by Community Parking Districts in Policy Reports 2022-02-22 14:52:02 -0800
Memorandum: Permissible Expenditures by Community Parking Districts
Read moreReport Summary
The City of San Diego’s Community Parking Districts have more than $9 million in unspent revenues collected from parking meters. Since 2009, the City Attorney has considered parking meter revenues to be “fees”, which places limits on how Parking Districts may spend those revenues. However, in 2010, voters adopted Proposition 26, which amended the California Constitution and clarified that revenues generated from charging for the use of government property, including revenues from parking meters, are not fees or taxes. These parking revenues can therefore legally be spent for any government purpose.
Proposition 26 allows the City of San Diego to revisit its policies and to expand how parking meter revenue can be spent by Community Parking Districts. The City of San Diego can and should update its policy and join many of its peer jurisdictions in California that allow parking revenues to be spent on a wide variety neighborhood amenities for residents, visitors, and businesses.
Parking meter revenues could be spent on amenities that provide transportation access to the neighborhood in a manner that would not burden limited parking resources, including:
- Sidewalks
- Crosswalks
- Intersection murals
- Bicycle lanes
- Storage for bicycles, scooters, etc.
- Improvements to transit stops
- Transportation planning and outreach activities
- Education and encouragement programs for active transportation and public transit ridership
- Transit pass subsidy programs
Revenues could also be spent to fund activities that attract more customers and visitors, including:
- Events
- Parklets
- Placemaking
- Marketing and promotions
- Maintenance and “clean-and-safe” activities
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Hope for Vision Zero
Report Summary
The City of San Diego adopted its Vision Zero commitment in 2015, pledging to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2025. The data in this report is an account of the progress towards Vision Zero at the half-way point of the City of San Diego’s 10-year goal.
This report contains data on traffic fatalities and serious injuries from 2013 through 2020 in the City of San Diego. The data shows that while the combined number of traffic fatalities and serious injuries rose between 2013 and 2018, it declined in 2019 and again in 2020.
Traffic fatalities and serious injuries in San Diego increased between 2013 and 2018, particularly for pedestrians. This reflects a national trend of increasing pedestrian traffic fatalities. In 2019, there was a modest decrease in the City of San Diego for combined serious injuries and fatalities compared to 2018. 2020 showed a further decline in the City of San Diego, compared to 2019. While data from 2020 is likely to be an outlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the data from recent years give reason for optimism that San Diego may be turning a corner for Vision Zero.
While the City of San Diego’s efforts have shown modest success, more must be done to achieve the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2025.
Annual Comparison - Bicycle & Pedestrian Collisions Read morePress
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NBC 7 San Diego,
May 12, 2021 -
Streetsblog California,
May 12, 2021 -
MSNBC,
May 12, 2021 -
Times of San Diego,
May 16, 2021 -
Times of San Diego,
April 15, 2022
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NBC 7 San Diego,
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Circulate Webmaster published A Place for Placemaking in San Diego in Policy Reports 2022-02-22 08:29:58 -0800
A Place for Placemaking in San Diego
Read moreReport Summary
Both in San Diego and around the country, there are signs that leveraging the power of arts and culture into traditional planning processes can improve neighborhoods while better serving community interests. This convergence of interests has created a field that practitioners are calling creative placemaking. The movement is growing rapidly in part because cities around the U.S. are looking for tools to redevelop communities in ways that not only increase economic development, but also build social capital among community residents.
In San Diego, the movement is grassroots oriented, bubbling up through community-led projects. As the projects continue, City staff is being asked to simplify the process to make community dreams, some of which are relatively simple, become reality. Examples include street paint, benches, art in vacant lots, murals, decorative crosswalks, alley activation, landscaping, wayfinding signage, and temporary mobility enhancements-all promoted to revitalize neighborhoods and jump start the building of social capital. As much as these projects are about the product, they are also about the process. That means an authentic, community-led process that respects community history and values.
As the City strives to implement the City of Villages, and Vision Zero strategies in a manner that aligns with the new Climate Action Plan (CAP), City leaders must find opportunities to deeply engage diverse communities about their vision and priorities for the future. The emerging field of creative placemaking offers San Diego a collaborative process to tap into the talents of its thriving arts community and achieve multiple City-wide goals.
This paper outlines case studies of successful placemaking projects in San Diego, and the challenges they have faced. The paper also offers recommendations on how the City can embrace creative placemaking, based on best practices in other cities.
The case studies highlight the following recommendations:
- Create a new, user-friendly permit process to enable and encourage community-led projects,
- Pilot desired projects to determine if process is accessible to all,
- Experiment with and formalize a partnership with local artists and integrate into the existing community planning process, and
- Partner with a local arts or community organization to serve as a conduit for community engagement.
San Diego prides itself on its diverse, unique neighborhoods. Residents are willing to step up to implement their own vision of their space, especially in areas that are highly underutilized and sometimes just plain derelict. One step the City can take to achieve its own goals, is to explore creative placemaking and not only allow, but also encourage communities to work together to create the places they want to see. This requires the establishment of a new creative placemaking permit process in partnership with multiple City departments, including Development Services, Neighborhood Planning, and the Commission for Arts and Culture.
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Circulate Webmaster published California Coalition Letter: Response to USDOL's Determination on the Impacts of PEPRA in Policy Letters 2022-02-21 17:26:14 -0800
California Coalition Letter: Response to USDOL's Determination on the Impacts of PEPRA
On December 9th, California Transit Association along with various partners including Circulate, responded to USDOL's October 28th determination on the impacts of California's Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013.
Read the full letter HERE.
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Circulate Webmaster published Letter: Support for SB 922 in Policy Letters 2022-02-21 17:24:22 -0800
Letter: Support for SB 922
Circulate submitted a letter of support for SB 922. In 2020, SB 288 was signed into law. That bill exempts some transportation projects from CEQA, allowing faster implementation of slow streets, bike lanes, bus rapid transit, and other upgrades that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. SB 922 extends these exemptions indefinitely, and clarifies some of SB 288's provisions. SB 922 helps ensure that California can swiftly make the transition to cleaner modes of transportation. Read the full letter here.
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Circulate Webmaster published Circulator - 02/18/2022 in Circulator Newsletter 2022-02-21 16:32:09 -0800
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Circulate Webmaster published Media Advisory: Press Conference – SANDAG Must Ensure Process Improvements for Bike Program in Press Room 2022-02-21 15:43:08 -0800
Media Advisory: Press Conference – SANDAG Must Ensure Process Improvements for Bike Program
MEDIA ADVISORY — September 23, 2021
Media Contact:
Jesse O’Sullivan, Policy Counsel
(619) 301-1381 | [email protected]Read morePress Conference — SANDAG Must Ensure Process Improvements for Bike Program
On September 24, nonprofit think tank Circulate San Diego will host a press conference outside of the SANDAG offices at the Wells Fargo Plaza at 401 B. St. The SANDAG board will be voting later that day on increasing funding for the Regional Bicycle Early Action Program.
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Circulate Webmaster published Virtual Press Conference to Discuss Findings of New Circulate White Paper: Essential Workers Rely on Transit in San Diego in Press Room 2022-01-25 09:46:45 -0800
Virtual Press Conference to Discuss Findings of New Circulate White Paper: Essential Workers Rely on Transit in San Diego
MEDIA ADVISORY — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Colin Parent, Executive Director and General Counsel
(619) 567-6856 | [email protected]Read moreVirtual Press Conference to Discuss Findings of New Circulate White Paper: Essential Workers Rely on Transit in San Diego
On Thursday, Circulate San Diego will host a virtual press conference to release Essential Transit: How essential workers in the San Diego region continue to rely on transit while responding to COVID-19. Circulate will share the white paper’s findings and talk about the essential role that transit plays getting essential workers to their jobs.
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Circulate Webmaster published ACTION ALERT: Encinitas Cycle Track Vote TONIGHT in Blog Posts 2022-01-04 09:13:33 -0800
ACTION ALERT: Encinitas Cycle Track Vote TONIGHT
ACTION ALERT: Encinitas City Council to vote TONIGHT
Encinitas City Council has an awesome 2-way cycle track on its agenda for TONIGHT, Wednesday December 8, and it needs your support!
The Traffic Commission rejected it, in favor of letting a state grant go and the city putting in unprotected, paint only bike lanes. On this 40 mph road, paint only bike lanes are unsafe. We need the cycle track!
Read more -
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Circulate Webmaster published City of San Diego's Parking Rules in Policy Reports 2021-12-07 10:42:23 -0800
City of San Diego's Parking Rules
Read moreReport Summary
The parking rules in the City of San Diego are generally collected in the Municipal Code, not in individual community plan documents. This presents an opportunity for parking policy to become streamlined, and comprehensive in its approach. However, current parking rules in San Diego lack cohesion.
Parking policy in San Diego is complex, inconsistent, and difficult for developers to navigate. The parking code represents a hodgepodge of different policies, layered on top of one another over time, reflect a variety of sometimes conflicting and shifting policy goals. In some circumstances, parking minimums for new developments are reduced because of lower expected or demonstrated demand. More frequently, parking minimums are increased, on the assumption that certain areas need added parking, or perhaps more cynically, to keep new developments from coming to those neighborhoods at all.
For almost every new home constructed in San Diego, at least one new parking space is required to be built.
For almost every new home constructed in San Diego, at least one new parking space is required to be built. This is true for even studio apartments and other homes well served by transit. San Diego’s parking rules assume every resident will drive for all of their trips. These rules are inconsistent with reality, where many San Diegans do not own a car, or would like to live without having to own a car and pay rent for car storage in the form of a reserved parking spot.
Parking minimums for new developments are generally intended to reduce the impact of a new building to the neighborhood, by limiting the number of new neighbors that use limited street parking. However, parking requirements for new developments have a variety of unintended consequences, famously identified as the “High Cost of Free Parking,” by Professor Donald Shoup,[1] including the tendency to encourage traffic and drive up development costs and rents for end users.[2]
While parking minimums may serve important purposes in some circumstances, parking minimums that are too high can hurt neighborhoods and limit the ability to achieve smart growth goals. The City of San Diego should examine parking reforms that will allow the City to meet its Climate Action Plan goals, and implement the General Plan’s City of Villages Strategy.
Key Findings
- Requests to lower parking requirements are burdensome and time-consuming.
- Reduction in parking minimums for areas near transit are minimal and limited.
- Assumption that all future residents will drive will not support mode share goals in the Climate Action Plan.
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Circulate Webmaster published Letter: Support for the City of San Diego’s Application for the Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant in Policy Letters 2021-12-07 08:44:59 -0800
Letter: Support for the City of San Diego’s Application for the Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant
Circulate submitted a letter of support for the City of San Diego’s Application for the Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant. The City plans to use the grant to create a Mobility Master Plan. A Mobility Master Plan will prioritize active transportation and climate resilient projects in the most vulnerable communities and which will help the City and State achieve their climate and equity goals. The Plan will implement the City’s General Plan, Mobility Action Plan, Vision Zero, and Climate Action Plan and will identify complete streets elements and multimodal design improvements for users of all ages and abilities.
Click here to read the full letter
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Circulate Webmaster published Coalition Letter: Support for Proposed Changes to SANDAG’s Bicycle Safety Projects in Policy Letters 2021-12-07 08:12:25 -0800
Coalition Letter: Support for Proposed Changes to SANDAG’s Bicycle Safety Projects
Circulate San Diego, the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, and Climate Action Campaign sent a coalition letter of support for proposed changes to SANDAG's bicycle safety improvements. The proposed changes come after the coalition's September letter and press conference requesting process improvements. The current proposed changes incorporate the coalition's recommendations, and include additional proposed changes that would both reduce timelines and decrease costs. In addition, the proposed changes include an option to use quick-build for immediate safety improvements and to refine final designs.
Click here to read the full letter
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Circulate Webmaster published Letter: Support for the 28th Street Multi-Modal Rail Crossing Improvements in Policy Letters 2021-12-07 08:11:10 -0800
Letter: Support for the 28th Street Multi-Modal Rail Crossing Improvements
Circulate San Diego wrote a letter in support of the 28th Street Multi-Modal Rail Crossing Improvements submitted by SANDAG for funding consideration through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program.
Click here to read the full letter
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Circulate Webmaster published Letter: Support of S. 3237, the Build More Housing Near Transit Act of 2021 in Policy Letters 2021-12-07 08:07:01 -0800
Letter: Support of S. 3237, the Build More Housing Near Transit Act of 2021
On November 18th, a coalition of over 100 national, regional, state, and local organizations, wrote a letter to Senator Brian Schatz and Senator Mike Braun voicing our support of S. 3237, the Build More Housing Near Transit Act of 2021.
Click here to read the full letter
