County Once Again Says No to Housing

Climate Action Plan Expected to Eliminate Most New Housing Production in the Unincorporated Areas of San Diego County.

By Lori Pfeiler, CEO, BIA

San Diego County has, once again, shut down housing.

Not long ago I made the comment that the “County was dead to us” because the county’s VMT regulations, or the number of miles anticipated from new car trips created by new housing, essentially stopped residential development in the unincorporated areas of the county because the cost to comply with the county’s VMT regulations were ridiculously expensive – up to $2 million per unit. But the county reversed course, recently determining if a project is consistent with the County General Plan then road trips are accounted for in the General Plan, thereby removing the need for additional analysis and cost. Projects that comply with the General Plan no longer have to also comply with VMT mandates.

The BIA praised the county for this policy change because it cleared the way for nearly 58,000 new units of housing to be built.

But then last week the county more or less wiped away all that progress when it voted 3-2 to adopt its new Climate Action Plan.

“The plan aims to steer development toward more urban communities and away from car-dependent exurbs and areas at a high risk for wildfires,” KPBS reported last week.“County staffers say fully implementing the plan will cut greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 44% by 2030, and by roughly 85% by 2045.”

Here’s the rub: the adoption of this Climate Action Plan means the county has once again implemented government regulations that will block most new housing production in the unincorporated areas of San Diego County. And that, of course, means more San Diegans will be forced to buy homes in Riverside County and commute to and from San Diego County for work. Those new commutes will create more pollution and that, of course, means greenhouse gas emissions will continue to increase NOT decrease.

It should be noted that County Supervisors “Jim Desmond and Joel Anderson voted against the Climate Action Plan, arguing that the fire safe and VMT efficient alternative would stifle homebuilding in the unincorporated areas at a time when San Diego County desperately needs more housing,” KPBS reported.

It’s also important to note that the Climate Action Plan does nothing to build fire safe housing. It is simply a plan that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Today’s building standards ensure new homes are extremely fire safe, much more so than they were 20, 30 and 40 years ago. The materials home builders use today do not catch fire.

Traditionally, a home built in unincorporated areas is more affordable than one built downtown, or in the urban core, and most likely includes a yard. So what these new county regulations really do is short-change working families and others who would very much like to buy a home in San Diego County.

The BIA is continuing to lobby the county on this issue. We will keep you posted.