1. San Diego Housing Commission
“Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego”
San Diego Housing Federation
25th Annual Affordable Housing & Community Development Conference
October 13, 2016

2. An Action Plan for San Diego
Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
Panelists
Marcela Escobar-Eck
Principal
Atlantis Group
Dave Gatzke
Vice President - Acquisitions
Community HousingWorks
Brian Schoenfisch
Program Manager, Long Range Planning
City of San Diego Planning Department
Steve Russell
Executive Director
San Diego Housing Federation
Moderator
Wendy Dewitt
Director of Business & Program Development
San Diego Housing Commission
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #2

3. An Action Plan for San Diego
Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
Introduction
In 2014, the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) Board and City of San Diego Housing Authority expressed increasing concern with the cost of affordable housing
January 6, 2015, the City’s Smart Growth & Land Use (SG&LU) Committee, at the request of Chair Lori Zapf, assembled a list of questions; the questions became the basis for the SDHC’s study “Addressing The Housing Affordability Crisis – Action Plan For San Diego”
SDHC engaged LeSar Development Consultants to conduct a study and incorporate analysis by Keyser Marston Associates
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #3

4. An Action Plan for San Diego
Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
Introduction (continued)
The study, presented December 9, 2015, to the City’s SG&LU Committee, was one of the first to create a comprehensive blueprint with recommended actions at the Local, State or Federal level to reduce costs and increase production.
Recommended actions could reduce construction costs:
Up to $174,000 per unit for affordable housing construction
Up to $51,000 per unit for market-rate housing construction
The Committee directed City Staff to work with SDHC to explore how recommendations could be crafted into City ordinances or advocated at State/Federal level
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #4

5. #1: Set Annual Housing Production Goals
Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
#1: Set Annual Housing Production Goals
City Council sets annual housing production
goals and publishes annual scorecard tracking
progress against the goal.
Level of Government: Local & City Council
Timeline: Short Term
Scope: Affordable & Market
Steve Russell | San Diego Housing Federation
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #5

6. #2: Incentivize More 80/20 Developments
Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
#2: Incentivize More 80/20 Developments
SDHC and/or City Council incentivize 80/20
developments to produce more affordable
units at lower cost, utilize unused 4% credits
and lower subsidy from SDHC.
Level of Government: Local, City Council, and SDHC
Timeline: Short Term
Scope: Affordable
Dave Gatzke | Community HousingWorks
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #6

7. #3: Defer Development Fees
Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
#3: Defer Development Fees
City of San Diego implements a policy that
builds on existing deferral programs to defer
more development fees until Temporary
Certificate of Occupancy is issued.
Level of Government: Local and City Council
Timeline: Short Term
Scope: Affordable and Market
Brian Schoenfisch | San Diego Planning Department
Dave Gatzke | Community HousingWorks
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #7

8. #4: Reduce Parking Requirements
Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
#4: Reduce Parking Requirements
City and SDHC further reduce parking
requirements by amending the City’s Land
Development Code to include maximums
rather than minimums.
Level of Government: Local, City Council, and SDHC
Timeline: Short Term
Scope: Affordable and Market
Brian Schoenfisch | San Diego Planning Department
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #8

9. #5: Reduce Commercial Space Requirements
Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
#5: Reduce Commercial
Space Requirements
City and SDHC reduce ground floor
commercial space requirements by amending
the City’s Land Development Code.
Level of Government: Local, City Council, and SDHC
Timeline: Short Term
Scope: Affordable and Market
Brian Schoenfisch | San Diego Planning Department
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #9

10. #6: Unlock Land & Increase Ground Leases
Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
#6: Unlock Land & Increase
Ground Leases
SDHC, City and local agencies inventory land, increase ground leases of land to affordable housing developers at below market rates or at nominal cost and make regulatory changes to unlock land for market rate housing.
Level of Government: Local, City Council, and SDHC
Timeline: Short Term
Scope: Affordable
Steve Russell | San Diego Housing Federation
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #10

11. #7: Shorten Entitlement Process
Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
#7: Shorten Entitlement Process
Mayor directs development services to
streamline entitlement process, including
implementing conceptual review and online
processing of approvals.
Level of Government: Local and City Council
Timeline: Short Term
Scope: Affordable and Market
Marcela Escobar-Eck | Atlantis Group
Brian Schoenfisch | San Diego Planning Department
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #11

12. #8: Approve Community Plans with Master EIRs
Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
#8: Approve Community Plans
with Master EIRs
City Council expedites Community Plan
Updates and requires completion of Master
EIRs as part of process.
Level of Government: Local and City Council
Timeline: Long Term
Scope: Affordable and Market
Marcela Escobar-Eck | Atlantis Group
Brian Schoenfisch | San Diego Planning Department
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #12

13. #9: Support CEQA Reform Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
#9: Support CEQA Reform
State legislation to streamline California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for Infill
Projects. City Council action to amend local
CEQA thresholds.
Level of Government: State and Local
Timeline: Medium Term
Scope: Affordable and Market
Marcela Escobar-Eck | Atlantis Group
Dave Gatzke | Community HousingWorks
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #13

14. #10: Align State Oversight
Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
#10: Align State Oversight
Ad hoc committee issues recommendations to
align the five state housing oversight agencies
and policy processes.
Level of Government: State and Governor/Treasurer
Timeline: Medium Term
Scope: Affordable
Steve Russell | San Diego Housing Federation
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #14

15. #11: Increase State & Federal Resources
Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis:
An Action Plan for San Diego
#11: Increase State & Federal Resources
Fair Share of Continuum of Care: Recommend a formula change to ensure San Diego gets fair share of homelessness funds.
Expand LIHTC to support development and preservation of affordable housing.
Increase Federal Rental Assistance for affordable housing.
Enact Moving to Work Authority to support people transitioning back to employment.
Level of Government: State, Federal, U.S. Congress and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Timeline: Medium Term
Scope: Affordable
Dave Gatzke | Community HousingWorks
Steve Russell | San Diego Housing Federation
San Diego Housing Commission
Slide #15