February 22, 2022
Homes For All of Us Package
On Tuesday, February 8, City Council voted 8-1 to support Mayor Gloria’s Homes for All of Us package. This initiative aims to help more San Diegans afford housing. We were pleased to voice our support–something must be done to increase housing production, or young people won’t be able to raise families in the city and our businesses will struggle to attract and retain the talent they need to grow.
The items in the first Housing Action Package, approved by the City Council, include the following reforms:
Senate Bill 9 implementation: Implements the state law allowing the split of a single-family lot into two lots, and permitting up to two new homes on each lot. The City’s implementation is aimed at preserving neighborhood quality while providing more opportunities for affordable housing in all communities.
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance amendments: Amends the City’s existing ADU ordinance to make it consistent with SB 9 on privacy, landscaping, and development impact fees.
Housing at City facilities: Streamlines the process for building affordable and middle-income homes on City-owned sites.
Affordable Housing in All Communities: Encourages affordable housing construction in communities with little to no affordable housing. To meet the City’s climate and equity goals, the homes must be built near transit and in “high resource” areas — areas close to good-paying jobs that have low levels of air and water pollution and a high educational achievement.
Employee Housing Incentive Program: Provides incentives for non-residential developments to pay into a San Diego Housing Commission fund that will be used to develop affordable homes.
Live/work flexibility: Currently, the City allows for the development of live/work units that function as both a home and place of business. This proposal would further facilitate the production of live/work units to allow for more work-from-home and telework opportunities.
Housing Accessibility Program: Provides incentives to include more accessible housing for people with disabilities, with adequate space in kitchens and bathrooms and accessible routes throughout the building. As San Diego’s population ages, creating accessible homes is an important way to ensure more residents can remain and live independently in San Diego.
Housing for Families: Provides incentives for multifamily housing developments to build homes with three or more bedrooms to ensure that families of all sizes have opportunities for housing.
Street Vending Ordinance
Councilmember Campbell’s Street Vending Ordinance passed the EDIR committee unanimously.
This ordinance presents a comprehensive framework for the regulation of sidewalk vendors within the City of San Diego, which includes the issuing permits. The ordinance sets parameters relating to distance requirements from various public assets and facilities, prohibits vending in various high-traffic pedestrian areas, and regulates parkland, including beaches and plazas, which are under the management of the Parks & Recreation Department. The ordinance also differentiates between stationary sidewalk vendors, who vend from fixed locations, and roaming sidewalk vendors who move from place to place and stop to complete a transaction