San Diego Habitat for Humanity is piggybacking on a national campaign to promote a $900 million affordable housing bond for the city's 2020 ballot.
The global nonprofit homebuilder launched its "Cost of Home" campaign last month to urge national, state and local governments to improve access to affordable housing. The campaign seeks to support new low-income housing construction, access to credit and land use reform.
Lori Pfeiler, president and CEO of San Diego Habitat for Humanity, said poor and middle-class households cannot afford the housing that is now being built in the region.
"The costs to build in San Diego County are so high that there has to be some subsidy," Pfeiler said after a press conference Monday. "And so this November 2020 bond is a resource to provide that subsidy here locally that we'll have control over."
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The housing bond measure was first floated by the nonprofit San Diego Housing Federation for the November 2018 election. But procedural delays by the San Diego City Council ultimately forced the group to postpone its ambitions to 2020. The bond would pay for the building of homes for veterans, seniors, people with disabilities and those currently experiencing homelessness.
"This is our chance to build housing in all neighborhoods that working San Diegans can afford, and gain the matching funds from the state and federal resources ... so that we can actually produce more housing units," said City Councilman Chris Ward.
Because the city would pay off the bond with an increase in property taxes, the measure needs support from at least six City Council members — a hurdle it is likely to clear since Democrats have a six-vote supermajority on the council.
If the City Council approves the measure for the November 2020 ballot, it would need a two-thirds majority from city voters to pass.
