Middle-Income Density Bonus Working Toward Approval in San Diego

"Officials are proposing to allow developers to build 25 percent more units than a property’s zoning allows if they agree to reserve 10 percent of the units for people making 80 percent to 120 percent of the region’s median income," according to an article by David Warrick in the city of San Diego.

The density bonus program is aimed at developing more residential units affordable to middle-income workers, like nurses, teachers, and firefighters. Median housing prices in the county, $600,000 median price for a home or $1,600 average rent for a one-bedroom apartment, are largely out of reach to those members of the community.

A last minute compromise helped the ordinance win approval from the City Council's Land Use and Housing Commission. After critics of the planned raised concerns that the density bonus for middle-income housing would discourage developers from building housing affordable to lower-income residents, an extra bonus was added to provide an "additional 50 percent density bonus for including the low-income units," according to Warrick.