Support for San Diego’s Measure A, the $900M Housing Bond
Advocates of the measure say that it will open the door for more affordable housing development in San Diego.
Come election day, San Diego voters will decide on a local measure that could support the development of affordable housing. Measure A is a $900 million housing bond funded through increased homeowner property taxes. If passed, it would fund the construction of up to 7,500 units in affordable units for the homeless or those at risk of being homeless. To pass, the measure will need approval from two-thirds of voters.
At a recent CREW San Diego event, speakers discussed the measure. Kelly Moden of Community Housing Works said that her firm is championing the measure. Similar housing funds have passed in Los Angeles and San Francisco to raise local money for development. “Developers seeking state and federal funds need to show funds coming from local resources,” said Moden. “San Diego’s is a small fund. This is a broad-based fund that everyone in San Diego who owns a home would pay into through increases property taxes, and it will allow for more affordable housing to be built. “If it doesn’t pass, San Diego will fall behind.”
In addition, Moden said that this housing fund is better than the fee-based route that developers have to navigate to bring affordable housing to the market. The state has a density bonus requirement. If a project has 10% affordable units, developers receive reduced fees and incentives. “But not enough is coming on-line to make it equitable,” added Moden.
Craig Benedetto of California Strategies agreed that the housing bond would help with the development of affordable housing, but added that there is no guarantee that the bond will help reduce fees. He is currently working with NAIOP on ways to fund affordable housing. “This bond would certainly help get there but how do you avoid linkage and in-lieu fees then? How do you avoid double taxation from bonds that are property tax based? This can be sizable to CRE developers,” he said.
He recommends that the city create a credit program. “City of San Diego has guaranteed it will hear about some type of credit program, if this passes,” he added. “But they don’t have to pass a program, they’ve just guaranteed to hear it.”