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San Diego County tackles housing shortage with general plan changes

Four of the County Board of Supervisors in seats behind a U-shaped dais
(Eduardo Contreras/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

The Board of Supervisors updated plans for housing, safety and environmental justice

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The San Diego County Board of Supervisors took steps to resolve regional housing shortages Wednesday by approving amendments to the housing and safety elements of the county’s general plan and by adding a new environmental justice element to it.

The amendments are designed to accelerate housing construction in areas with access to transportation and utilities. The amendments also update plans for wildfires and other hazards, and to improve environmental safety in unincorporated communities.

“We know that we need more housing that is more affordable,” said Nathan Fletcher, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “We also know that we have to begin to shift into infill, rather than new sprawl, developments. We have the stark reality that there are not many transit-oriented development opportunities in the unincorporated area. And we have issues of fire.”

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The housing element addresses the county’s share of new homes needed in the region. That includes affordable housing options as well as market-rate housing and covers housing for the homeless, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities, county staff said.

Since its last general plan update a decade ago, the county has steered new housing toward areas that already are developed, and it limited construction of subdivisions in the backcountry, to reduce traffic, greenhouse gas emissions and sprawl.

The housing element maps out 236 sites for new home development, all of which are in existing population centers or “villages,” close to transit and within the County Water Authority Boundary, staff said.

According to state law, the unincorporated portions of San Diego County need to produce 6,700 new housing units between 2021 and 2029, including 1,834 very-low -income units, 992 low-income units, 1,165 moderate-income units and 1,251 above-moderate-income homes, staff said. The county is not required to produce new homes itself, but it must pave the way with policies favorable to housing construction as the population grows.

Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer pointed out that the county is far behind its goals for housing production, with just a fraction of the required units constructed in recent years.

“We face a daunting, uphill battle to address the vast backlog of affordable housing needs in our community,” she said. “Over the past decade, we’ve built less than 20 percent of the housing we need in our region.”

Those shortages are particularly severe for the lowest income families, with households earnings less than $55,000 per year, she said, and for middle income families.

Supervisor Joel Anderson asked staff to report the amount of housing constructed each year, instead of every four years, saying that annual tally will be important for tracking whether the county is meeting its targets.

He also asked planners to think more broadly about the kinds of homes they permit and encourage, in an effort to boost housing production while cutting prices.

“More housing types that are easier to construct and are more affordable, I think, should be part of that consideration,” Anderson said. “I’d like to add a variety of housing types, including but not limited to movable tiny houses, 3D-printed homes and new prefab housing types that meet state and local building code standards.”

Supervisors also updated the safety element of the general plan with additional procedures for analyzing emergency evacuation routes, mapping hazards and addressing the effects of climate change. They called for improving telecommunications to make sure that emergency notifications of wildfires or other threats reach as many residents as possible.

Those efforts will include developing an evacuation traffic management plan to reduce evacuation times during emergencies, identifying neighborhoods with only one exit or entry, and researching populations that are vulnerable to hazardous events.

In addition supervisors passed an environmental justice element that aims to reduce pollution and other hazards in communities with high environmental risks.

It covers 17 census tracts in four areas, including North El Cajon, North Lemon Grove, Spring Valley and Sweetwater. Supervisors asked staff to draw up a countywide definition of environmental justice communities, to determine if other areas also meet those criteria.

The environmental justice element will focus on reducing pollution and improving air quality; ensuring access to healthy food and safe, sanitary homes; improving options for physical activity, and increasing civic engagement.

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