The price tag for affordable housing projects can be eye-popping – over the past couple of years, new projects reviewed by the San Diego Housing Commission cost $574,000 per unit on average. One project in Rancho Bernardo was almost double that, at nearly $911,000 per unit.
But … why?
Lisa Halverstadt dove deep into the affordable housing trenches to break down why costs ballooned at five of the most expensive affordable housing developments in the pipeline, and how affordable housing developers are paying for it. What she found is that many of the agencies that fund affordable housing require or incentivize added amenities that drive up costs considerably.
Extra parking spaces, commercial facilities and water and sewer upgrades all play a role. But so do increasing costs for supplies and requirements to employ higher-paid union workers for construction.
Big News for the Builder’s Remedy
The builder’s remedy, one of California’s most controversial housing laws, could be getting some significant updates.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks announced a bill Tuesday that not only endorses the builder’s remedy, but aims to make it clearer and more enforceable.
The builder’s remedy says if a city doesn’t have a compliant housing element, the city can’t use its zoning code or general plan to deny an affordable housing project. A housing element is a state-required plan outlining how a city can accommodate enough new housing to meet its population’s needs.
In other words, if a city is slacking on its housing plan, developers can use the builder’s remedy to get their housing projects approved regardless of the city’s zoning rules.
But even though the builder’s remedy has been around since 1990, no project has ever broken ground using the law.
AB 1893 seeks to clear up some of the law’s ambiguities, add a new streamlining provision and basically reduce the potential for litigation and disputes that come from builder’s remedy projects.
Related: A developer of a proposed housing project in Del Mar is suing the city for repeatedly rejecting the project even though the developer says they’re using the builder’s remedy correctly. Read about it here.
Song of the Week
It would be hard to find a song that’s come out of San Diego that’s had a larger cultural footprint than “Angel Baby.” The swooning doo-wop track was released by Rosie and the Originals and was penned by Rosalie “Rosie” Hamlin.
In the six decades since its release, “Angel Baby,” has been covered by the likes of Linda Ronstadt, John Lennon and Charles Brown. It’s a true classic. Last week marked the seven-year anniversary of Hamlin’s death, so it seems fitting to remember her brief, but profound, musical legacy that led to her becoming the first Latina inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Rosie and the Originals, “Lonely Blue Nights”: “Lonely Blue Nights,” is more polished than the rough-around-the-edges “Angel Baby,”but carries just as much emotional weight. On the track, Hamlin croons about a love lost and begs for a second chance over the gentle plunks of a piano and guitar.
Read more about the song of the week here.
Like what you hear? Check out the entire “The Best of Rosie and the Originals,” compilation released in 1999.
Do you have a “Song of the Week” suggestion? Shoot us an email and a sentence or two about why you’ve been bumping this song lately. Friendly reminder: all songs should be by local artists.
In Other News
- The San Diego City Council is set to vote later this month on a proposal to partner with a consulting firm to build electric car charging stations in 400 city-owned parking lots. But some council members are on the fence, citing the potential cost. (Union-Tribune)
- The city of San Diego is looking to greenlight high-density housing in University City, according to the latest draft of the University Community Plan. (KPBS)
- Victims of the Jan. 22 floods that devastated some San Diego neighborhoods have for months been living in hotel rooms paid for by the county. That program is set to expire on May 11, but this week the 800 households participating will find out if they need to leave even earlier than that. (Union-Tribune)
- Thanks to a colder than usual winter, California’s snowpack has exceeded the yearly average, meaning the state, and the region, are not at risk of a drought – at least for now. (NBC 7)
- The city of San Diego has had a hard time finding a developer interested in transforming the city’s aging Civic Center. But on Tuesday, the Prebys Foundation announced it had shelled out more than $300,000 to hire a firm to devise a big-picture plan in an effort to attract developers. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney and Tigist Layne. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.