Momentum for Rewriting San Diego's Inclusionary Zoning Policy

"San Diego progressives are on a mission to change a city policy they hope can deliver more affordable housing," according to an article by Lisa Halverstadt.

City Council Democrats and labor leaders in the city are calling for changes after the project yielded only 30 affordable housing projects in over ten years of existence (although some developers have also included affordable units in their projects). All told, however, the policy is not considered an effective tool in the city of San Diego, according to Halverstadt's portrayel.

"Units tied to the city’s inclusionary policy over the past 15 years – whether built within market-rate projects, or built through the fees developers pay instead – represent the equivalent of just 8 percent of the affordable homes the state called on the city [pdf] to build by 2020 to meet local demand," according to Halverstadt.

The solution proposed by local progressives is to require more affordable housing from developers, enabled by new state law that cleared the way for more inclusionary zoning policies around the state.

San Diego's inclusionary zoning policy has been in the news more of late. Earlier this month, Halverstadt reported that funding generated by the city's inclusionary zoning policy hasn't been effectively utilized.