A few months ago, the city of Vista sent out a request for proposals from homeless service providers to open and run a shelter.
But it failed to garner any bids. Those providers are telling us the city failed to help them see how it would pay for it or where it could possibly be located.
The city first opened its request for proposals in February, but after not receiving any bids from local providers, Vista closed the search eight weeks later. Three homeless services organizations, Interfaith Community Services, Vista Community Clinic and Operation Hope, did look into the project, but decided against responding.
Now, the city is scrapping the homeless shelter idea altogether. It is instead pursuing permanent supportive housing, a method that uses health care and subsidized housing to address homelessness.
Read the story in its entirety here.
Can San Diego’s Coastal Height Limit Ban Tall Projects? Nah, State Says
Decades ago, San Diego voters decided developers could not build projects taller than 30 feet in the city’s coastal area.
That rule, which includes anything west of Interstate 5, has pretty much defined development in those neighborhoods, until someone thought to ask the state, um … does this apply to us if we are taking advantage of California’s density bonus program?
The answer was no, as the Union-Tribune first reported. A California agency decided San Diego would be breaking state law if it continues to enforce its height limit in certain parts of the coast.
Is it as big of news as it sounds? The coastal height limit can only be breached if voters approve an exception to it, as they did for SeaWorld and almost did for the Midway area until a lawsuit threw out the ballot initiative that did it.
Our Scott Lewis and Andrew Keatts get into where it applies and what this means for San Diego, and specifically the Sports Arena, in the latest Politics Report.
Read more here. The Politics Report is our insider’s guide to San Diego politics and policy news. It’s available to Voice of San Diego members only. Support our work today and get access.
Over on the pod: Our hosts explain how a SANDAG transit tax increase died before voters even got a say and what it means for the region’s plans to improve the way we get around. They also dive into that story above about the coastal height limit and how dense housing proposals with affordable units can maybe pierce it?
In Other News
- San Marcos City Councilman Randy Walton argues in an op-ed that his and other cities are losing young people, which is bad news for families, businesses and for our schools. From 2015 to 2020, he notes, North County saw a net loss of individuals under 40, while the region’s population of residents over 65 grew and is expected to double by 2050. He proposes some steps cities like his can take to create more housing to keep that population.
- The desalination plant in Carlsbad needs a $159 million upgrade and ratepayers will have to foot the bill. (Union-Tribune)
- State lawmakers are considering a resolution to encourage cities to repeal bans on street cruising. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Tigist Layne, Jesse Marx and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.