San Diego Needs More Than 100,000 New Apartment Units

San Diego needs 107,000 more apartment units, according to panelists at a recent CREW San Diego meeting. The event included a discussion with Betsy Brennan, CEO of Downtown San Diego Partnership; Stephanie Smith, managing attorney of Grid Legal; Elyse Lowe, director of development services at the City of San Diego; and Laura Black, deputy director of community planning and implementation at the City of San Diego.

“The City is finishing the Kearny Mesa comprehensive plan update, and there should be a release draft early next year,” Black said in the discussion. She said the plan currently includes 20,000 residential units, while the Mission Valley plans specifies 28,000 units. However, a housing assessment estimates the San Diego area needs 107,000 new units in an eight-year period.

While there is a housing shortage, San Diego is driving development by streamlining the process. In 2020, development services will go online, according to Lowe, and Smith said that more housing bills, like the recent accessory dwelling unit housing bill, will help. The city has done a lot of work there already. More ADUs will get built, and lots of folks own multi-unit properties now,” she said.