From roads and sidewalks, to storm drains and even the regional supply of housing, the quality of our infrastructure directly impacts our business climate and quality of life. In many parts of the San Diego region, government had been underinvesting in infrastructure for decades as we struggled through recessions and fiscal crises. Re-investing in infrastructure is a priority of the Chamber and a necessity to keep San Diego as one of the best places to work or even start a business nationwide.
Chamber’s Position
While the region’s quality of life is inherently first-rate due to attributes including our climate and recreational opportunities, underinvestment in infrastructure limits our success rather than leveraging our assets. The Chamber is working to streamline government processes, improve regulations, and increase capacity to invest in infrastructure.
The Chamber readily recognizes that additional revenue options may need to be considered to repair our streets, roads and maintain our storm water system. Downtown San Diego, with its updated Community Plan and Master EIR, directs is development through Civic San Diego (CivicSD). The Chamber is an ardent supporter of CivicSD’s ability to give developers the stability of a dependable and predictable timeframe and cost expectations when submitting a project. Furthermore, the Chamber is supportive of the design review component included in CivicSD that allows for increased input from the Downtown community. AB 504, introduced by Assemblymember Gonzalez, has the singular goal of requiring that all projects developed downtown, even with the rigorous community input and previously approved community plan, be appealable to City Council. In short, this would have the detrimental result of making it harder to build in downtown, increase costs and disincentivize the investment critical to maintaining San Diego’s competitive edge.
Latest Activity
- In August 2016, the Chamber supported the Uptown Community Plan Update as well as the Housing Commission’s Affordable Housing Cap Article 34.
How to get involved
- Join our Infrastructure, Housing and Land Use Committee.
- Send a letter to members of the City of San Diego’s Smart Growth and Land Use Committee in support of the Chamber Housing Action Plan.
Supporting Information
- “Bumpy Roads Ahead: America’s Roughest Rides and Strategies to Make our Roads Safer” TRIP July 2015 Report
- “Ballot Scenarios for Infrastructure Funding” City of San Diego Independent Budget Analyst June 2015 Report
- Parking Plaza at San Diego International Airport Support Letter
- AB 504 “Local planning.” Letter of Opposition to the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance