DATE:
August 16, 2022
09
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
SUPPORTING LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS TO ADDRESS THE HOUSING CRISIS (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
The San Diego region faces a severe housing crisis. The most recent Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) identifies approximately 100,000 affordable homes that need to be built in San Diego County by 2029. But the region is on pace to meet only 12% of that target. While the state has set ambitious RHNA goals, the San Diego region does not have adequate support or resources to actually build the homes we desperately need.
San Diego's regional housing shortage is driving rents and home prices to record highs, putting an entire generation at risk of a worsening quality of life. Across the County, 40% of households spend a third of their income in housing costs, the third worst rate of housing cost burden among metropolitan areas across the nation. Working families are increasingly forced to move farther and farther away, leading to longer commutes, growing traffic, increasing carbon pollution, and the acceleration of our climate emergency. The regional economy also suffers as rising cost of living decreases our economic competitiveness. The pandemic has only exacerbated the crisis, deepening distress among working families, while rents and home prices have ballooned 30% over the past year.
At the same time, we are facing an urgent climate crisis that requires action to protect our communities and build for a more resilient future. We can simultaneously tackle the dual threat of housing unaffordability and climate change by building the right housing in the right places - sustainable, green homes near jobs, transit, and neighborhood amenities like grocery stores, schools, and parks.
Housing as a Regional Challenge
We have one labor market and one housing market across the region, yet we have 19 different housing strategies between the County and incorporated cities that often lack suitable resource...
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