It’s no secret that San Diego and all of California has an affordable housing crisis. Rents in the region are near all-time highs and inflation is affecting the cost of everyday necessities.
ACCE San Diego director Jose Lopez said that’s pushing many San Diegans over the edge.
“It's currently extremely difficult to be a renter. Most people are paying over half of their income on rent,” Lopez said. “There are very few protections against eviction, so if a tenant is evicted from their current unit, it's even more difficult to find a new place to live.”
But there are efforts underway to combat this issue.
That includes a new report from the city's Independent Budget Analyst (IBA). It's a 26 page analysis on how to improve housing affordability in San Diego.
It suggests multiple ways to overcome certain barriers, such as permitting and financing, height limits and funding shortfalls.
“The magnitude of the problem is so great that not just one thing is going to solve the issue,” the IBA's Jillian Kissee said. “The more that the city can streamline, look at its own processes and make them better, the better we can have an impact on housing affordability.”
City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera was one of the three council members who requested the analysis.
He said it’s a first step that could eventually lead to changes and investments to get more housing built in San Diego.
“Through streamlining permitting-processing, through changes to rules and regulations about what can be built where, and about programs we can put into place to make housing more affordable — we need to put every single option on the table," the city council president said.
Kissee said the next step is for the city council to digest the report while the IBA office awaits a response. That could include presentations to the council for further guidance on the region’s housing struggles.
In the meantime, ACCE San Diego’s Lopez said there are urgent needs for renters across the region.
“I think what needs to happen is more of a focus on protecting tenants and preserving the affordable housing that we currently have. The dominant narrative right now has been building more housing, but we’re never going to be able to build ourselves out of this crisis," Lopez said.
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