San Diego agrees to promote affordable housing, density in higher-income neighborhoods – San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego City Council Approves Landmark Settlement to Promote Affordable Housing in Affluent Neighborhoods
March 19, 2025
In a significant shift to the city's housing policy, the San Diego City Council on Tuesday approved a legal settlement that will require officials to prioritize affordable housing development in more affluent neighborhoods rather than concentrating it in lower-income areas.
The 8-0 vote resolves a lawsuit filed in 2019 by seven women from southeastern San Diego who alleged the city had violated fair housing laws by disproportionately locating low-income housing in their communities while keeping it out of wealthier areas.
Under the settlement terms, San Diego commits to placing at least 70 percent of new affordable housing units in moderate- and higher-resourced neighborhoods by 2028. The city will also prioritize increased housing density in more affluent areas and promote city-funded affordable housing projects in higher-income communities.
"This agreement will put in place a moderate process in which lower-income families will have an opportunity to live in the higher-resource areas of our city," said Michael Aguirre, attorney for the plaintiffs and former San Diego city attorney. "There will be an effort to locate areas where lower-income housing can be integrated across the city seamlessly."
The settlement also includes provisions to support lower-income neighborhoods through a sales-tax rebate program designed to attract new grocery stores to underserved areas. Additionally, the city will allocate up to $500,000 to enhance a first-time homebuyers program administered by the San Diego Housing Commission.
The agreement comes with a $650,000 payment to the plaintiffs to cover attorney fees and other costs. The federal court will maintain jurisdiction over the case and enforce the agreement.
City officials denied any discriminatory impact from their housing policies but opted to settle to "avoid years of protracted litigation and a potential injunction on affordable housing if plaintiffs were to prevail at trial," according to the staff report presented to the Council.
The lawsuit, filed by Patrice Baker, Gloria Cooper, Leslie Dudley, Letitia Flynn, Kathleen MacLeod, Eileen Osborne, and Khalada Salaam-Alaji, originally included San Diego County as a defendant. The county was later removed from the suit by a federal judge in 2020.
In their complaint, the plaintiffs argued that the city's practice of waiving or deferring development fees for additional housing units in their communities "negatively influence[d] the quality of life and create[d] unsafe living conditions."
Councilmember Henry Foster III, who represents the districts where most plaintiffs reside, initially opposed the settlement in closed session but voted in favor of the deal at Tuesday's public meeting.
The settlement builds upon the city's existing "Affordable Housing in all Communities" program, established in 1997 and updated in 2023, which allows for multi-family affordable housing developments in areas that typically don't permit such housing.
The San Diego Housing Commission has not yet detailed how it plans to implement the new affordable housing components required by the settlement.
This policy shift represents one of the most concrete efforts by a major U.S. city to address housing segregation patterns that have historically concentrated poverty in specific neighborhoods while excluding affordable housing options from more affluent areas.
San Diego officials will adopt a new policy prioritizing fair housing across the city and direct at least 70 percent of affordable housing to moderate- and higher-resourced neighborhoods by 2028 under a legal settlement approved Tuesday by the City Council.
The city also agreed to prioritize housing density in more affluent areas of San Diego and to promote city-funded affordable housing projects in higher-income communities.
City officials further pledged to offer a sales-tax rebate to promote new grocery stores in lower-income neighborhoods and allocate up to $500,000 to boost a first-time homebuyers program run by the San Diego Housing Commission.
The settlement also calls for the city to pay $650,000 to plaintiffs to cover attorney fees and other costs. It was approved on a 8-0 council vote without public debate.
The concessions were reached as part of a settlement to resolve a lawsuit filed against the city in 2019 by a group of women from southeastern San Diego who complained that officials for too long had wrongly concentrated low-income housing in their neighborhoods, and kept it out of wealthier areas.
“This agreement will put in place a moderate process in which lower-income families will have an opportunity to live in the higher-resource areas of our city,” said plaintiffs’ lawyer Michael Aguirre, a former elected San Diego city attorney.
“There will be an effort to locate areas where lower-income housing can be integrated across the city seamlessly,” Aguirre said.
The federal court will retain jurisdiction over the case and enforce the agreement, according to the staff report presented to the City Council. The city did not acknowledge any liability as a result of the lawsuit.
“While the city denied any discriminatory impact caused by its housing policies, settling the litigation provides certainty and avoids years of protracted litigation and avoids a potential injunction on affordable housing if plaintiffs were to prevail at trial,” the report said.
Councilmember Vivian Moreno was absent from the Tuesday meeting.
Councilmember Henry Foster III, who represents the home neighborhoods of most of the plaintiffs, opposed the settlement in closed session, records show. He voted in favor of the deal Tuesday. Foster did not immediately respond to a request for an explanation.
With their lawsuit, plaintiffs Patrice Baker, Gloria Cooper, Leslie Dudley, Letitia Flynn, Kathleen MacLeod, Eileen Osborne and Khalada Salaam-Alaji accused San Diego officials of violating state fair-housing laws in Mt. Hope, Encanto, Jamacha and other neighborhoods.
“The city has a pattern and practice of either waiving or deferring (development fees) for the additional housing units in these affected communities,” the suit said. “The non-collection of these fees will negatively influence the quality of life and creates unsafe living conditions.”
The lawsuit originally included San Diego County as a defendant. But county lawyers successfully argued that it should be excluded from the complaint, and a federal judge in 2020 agreed to remove the county from the suit.
The plaintiffs subsequently amended the lawsuit along narrower legal grounds. In 2022, the judge rejected the city’s motion for dismissal and instead agreed to allow the lawsuit to move forward.
“No legitimate purpose is served by concentrating poverty in these low-income areas,” the third amended complaint said. “Rather, keeping the low-income housing out of the non-affected communities feeds to the will of those with higher incomes and the resulting ability to influence politics through their wealth.”
The settlement terms were negotiated over the past number of months.
All told, the city agreed to implement seven specific actions in coming months and to pay the $650,000 in legal fees and litigation costs.
In addition to permitting 70 percent of affordable housing projects in moderate- and higher-resourced communities across San Diego and incentivizing new grocery stores in lower-income neighborhoods, the city will prioritize and increase housing density in higher-resourced areas.
The San Diego Housing Commission did not immediately respond to a request for an explanation about how it plans to implement the new affordable-housing components of the settlement.
Originally Published:
Affordable Housing in all Communities
The Affordable Housing in all Communities program allows for multi-family affordable housing in areas that typically do not otherwise allow for multi-family housing. The program includes developments that will be on public land and private or non-profit owned land.
Privately Owned Program Requirements
Allows:
- Multi-home developments with 100% affordable housing
- Permanent supportive housing
- Transitional housing
- Emergency shelter
Requirements:
- Must be in a non-residential area that does not allow for multi-family use
- Must be in a SDA
- Must be in a High or Highest Resource CTCAC opportunity area
- Must be in a community planning area (CPA) with at less than 5% of homes deed-restricted
- Must not be in a base zone identified as industrial or open space
- Project Dimensions
- Projects use RM 2-5 zoning except for:
- Density
- Floor area ratio
- Lot area & Lot dimensions
- Density by CPA:
- Downtown: unlimited density
- VMT Efficient: 6.5 FAR
- VMT Inefficient: 4.0 FAR
- Projects use RM 2-5 zoning except for:
Adoption date: December 9, 1997
Updates/amendments: March 7, 2023
SDMC: Chapter 14, Article 3, Division 7
Comments
Post a Comment