San Diego Affordable-Housing Deal Sparks Divided Opinions in La Jolla

A legal settlement approved by a federal judge that could result in at least 70% of all future affordable-housing projects in San Diego being placed in moderate- to high-income neighborhoods brought mixed reactions from local observers about its possible effects in La Jolla, considered a “higher-resource” area.

The settlement, reached earlier this year between the city of San Diego and lawsuit plaintiffs who accused planners of concentrating their affordable-housing efforts in poorer communities, was finalized by U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta late last week. Ohta will maintain jurisdiction over the long-running case to make sure the city follows through with implementing terms of the deal.

The agreement could fundamentally change the way San Diego locates affordable-housing projects.

Under the deal, the city will use its community plan updates to “increase residential densities in higher-resource areas to promote affordable housing in those areas and affirmatively further fair housing.”

The lawyers who brought the case on behalf of residents of Encanto and southeastern San Diego said the city has three years to show measurable progress toward spreading at least 70% of affordable-housing projects across the city.

“This is progress toward achieving a truly integrated community in which everyone, regardless of race, can have the opportunity to live in quality housing,” said attorney Michael Aguirre, who co-represented the plaintiffs.

“It’s a historic change in how San Diego plans its poverty housing. It gives the area where poverty has been concentrated a second chance to join in the resource-rich communities.”

Trudy Grundland, a Bird Rock resident who has been an activist against higher densities of smaller housing units, especially in beach communities, said she and other La Jollans “want affordable one-, two- and three-bedroom homes here and in all high-resource areas, priced for people earning less than 80% [of the] area median income … $130,800.”

“Let’s provide housing [that] 72% of people can afford using only 33% of their income,” Grundland said. “A studio apartment with a rent of $2,500 is not affordable to 72% of the local population and is not sized for families.”

Saad Asad, a spokesman for the pro-housing Yes in My Backyard Democrats who often has expressed a need for affordable housing in the La Jolla area for UC San Diego students, said the settlement could force changes in La Jolla, which he said likely will need to allow more apartments when it updates its community plan.

Noting that La Jolla once had property covenants aimed at excluding Jewish and non-Whiteresidents, Saad said “Low-income families deserve access to good schools and opportunities in all neighborhoods.”

Rachel Laing, a spokeswoman for San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, said city policies already deliver on many of the commitments called for in the settlement.

“We regularly report on our housing production through our Annual Reports on Homes and we carefully evaluate our progress toward our housing and fair-housing goals,” Laing said.

“The city will also continue to increase housing capacity and opportunities for affordable housing in high-resource communities through our community plan updates.”

Laing cited as an example the recent community plans developed for the University City and Hillcrest areas, which allowed for some 47,000 new housing units, though the guidelines do not limit sale or rental costs.

Cindy Weigle, along with Grundland and several other La Jollans , has been a vocal opponent of a 239-foot-tall mixed-use building proposed for 970 Turquoise St. in north Pacific Beach featuring 213 residential units — 10 of them designated as affordable for very-low- to middle-income households. Weigle said she agrees that “the burden of adding affordable housing … should apply to all areas of the city. But — and it’s a big but — that assumes the affordable-housing program that is in place is really working.”

“The city does not take into account that San Diego is a tourist destination,” Weigle said. “Building affordable homes in La Jolla is impossible. The cost of the land alone makes it difficult.”

She noted that many homes have been purchased by investors who “have learned [that] turning a property into a [short-term vacation rental] in this area is extremely lucrative. People will be tempted to build ADUs [accessory dwelling units, also known as backyard apartments or ‘granny flats’] and maximize profits by turning them into STRVs. … Many of these units are 450 square feet — the size of a nice hotel room but not big enough for a family.”

Saad said he also worries about practical hurdles. “High land costs will make affordable housing difficult to build in La Jolla. … If wealthy neighborhoods remain too expensive to develop whilethe city redirects focus from areas where affordable housing has been successfully built, we could end up with less total construction,” he said. “We need more homes in every neighborhood, not just better-distributed scarcity.”

Representatives of La Jolla planning groups including the Community Planning Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The settlement, which took six years, calls for San Diego to pay $650,000 in legal fees to the plaintiffs’ lawyers.

A representative of City Attorney Heather Ferbert provided a copy of a public staff report released in February that said “While the city denies any discriminatory impact caused by its housing policies, settling the litigation provides certainty and avoids years of protracted litigation and avoids a potential injunction on affordable housing if plaintiffs were to prevail at trial.”

San Diego residents Patrice Baker, Gloria Cooper, Leslie Dudley, Letitia Flynn, Kathleen MacLeod, Eileen Osborne and Khalada Salaam-Alaji filed suit against San Diego County and the city of San Diego in 2019. The county was subsequently released from the lawsuit, but allegations that San Diego systematically violated the U.S. Fair Housing Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act were allowed to proceed.

The case had been scheduled for trial last fall when the plaintiffs and defendants agreed to mediation.

In addition to locating affordable-housing projects in higher-income neighborhoods, the city will monitor developments and annually report progress to the City Council.

Planners also will ask council members to push for legislation that directs affordable-housing funds to be prioritized in moderate-, high- and highest-resource areas.

Meanwhile, city officials agreed to offer five-year sales tax rebates of up to 45% to incentivize the opening of grocery stores in lower-income neighborhoods. They also will send $500,000 to the San Diego Housing Commission to promote a first-time-homebuyers effort.

The plaintiffs accused the city and county of pushing affordable-housing projects into poorer neighborhoods by deferring or waiving development fees.

“The non-collection of these fees will negatively influence the quality of life and creates unsafe living conditions,” the suit said.

“Keeping the low-income housing out of the non-affected communities feeds to the will of those with higher incomes and the resulting ability to influence politics through their wealth,” the plaintiffs contended.

Later, after the county successfully argued that it should be dismissed from the lawsuit, the complaint was narrowed. Lawyers for the city sought to have the case dismissed, but a judge three years ago rejected that argument.

Weigle suggested that, depending on what happens as a result of the settlement, the fight may not be over.

“I saw what happened after 939 Coast Blvd. was built [in La Jolla in 1966, adding a high-rise residential development],” she said. “The town united and joined forces with other groups up and down the California coast. They pushed for Prop. 20 [in 1972]. It passed and what is now the [California] Coastal Commission was formed.

“La Jolla will fight back with time and money. … A push in wealthy communities could result in a citizens initiative taking the decision-making out of the hands of Sacramento and local politicians and putting it back in the hands of the communities.” ♦

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