San Diego’s sweeping Housing Action Package 2.0 moves forward without Senate Bill 10, its biggest element. As posted by the SDUT August 3, 2023:
San Diego’s Planning Commission unanimously voted against a key part of Mayor Todd Gloria’s housing plan Thursday that would have eliminated single-family zoning in much of the city.
The commission unanimously voted to recommend the city’s sweeping Housing Action Package 2.0, but stripped it of its biggest element: Senate Bill 10, which will now not go before City Council for a vote.
The optional statewide law, a lightning rod in the plan, would have allowed a single-family home to be torn down and replaced with a new structure of up to three stories with up to 10 units in much of the city.
The Planning Commission did include a provision in its vote that would allow for a working group on Senate Bill 10 sometime in the future, but several of the commissioners expressed that they would rather discuss a different proposal, other than the Senate bill at the potential meeting. No date was set for the working group.
While it’s possible the City Council could potentially ignore the commission’s recommendations, the mayor’s office confirmed that it will not be pushing for Senate Bill 10 to be part of the housing package going forward.
Other elements of the overall plan approved by the commissioners include converting unused land for housing, extending building permit times, eliminating parking requirements in many projects and making it easier to build off-campus housing. However, Senate Bill 10 was the main focus of the law and had been championed by the mayor and other local officials for much of this year.
“In my opinion, SB 10 is not the right way to go,” said Planning Commission chair William Hofman. “I think we are going down a wrong path that we won’t be able to retreat from.”
Commissioners Matthew Boomhower and Ted Miyahara were opposed to rejecting Senate Bill 10 outright, instead pushing for a future working group to discuss it.
However, Hofman said he would rather they discuss alternatives to Senate Bill 10, saying he didn’t think it could be reworked.
In a statement following the 6-0 vote, Gloria celebrated the passage of the rest of the plan, noting Senate Bill 10 could be taken up later in a workshop.
“This is a huge win for those who struggle with the high cost of living,” he wrote, “and all San Diegans who benefit from a healthy and balanced housing economy. I look forward to presenting these policies to the City Council for its consideration.”
That’s a excerpt. To read the entire article BY PHILLIP MOLNAR posted on AUG. 3, 2023 3:32 PM PT, visit: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2023-08-03/san-diego-planning-commission-votes-against-senate-bill-10-major-single-family-home-zone-change
For more from the City of San Deigo Housing Action Package 2.0, visit: https://www.sandiego.gov/planning/work/housing-action-package
