To help increase the supply of affordable housing, the City of San Diego
adopted two inclusionary housing programs – one in the northern part of the
city and one that applies to the rest of the city.
When inclusionary housing programs are adopted, developers help ensure that
a specified percentage of homes built are affordable to moderate or
low-income families – in other words, that the developments include families
of different incomes. In place in over a hundred cities in the U.S., such
policies are said to help create “balanced” residential communities.
Such a policy does not require a developer to provide the same house sold on
the open market to a moderate to low-income family for less. Rather, the
“inclusionary” homes may be apartments or smaller, usually attached,
for-sale or rental homes.
North city program
In 1992, the City of San Diego created an inclusionary policy in the “North
City Future Urbanizing Area” (NCFUA) – which, at the time, was an expanse of
mostly undeveloped open space stretching from Rancho Penasquitos to Carmel
Valley. These days, housing is being built in these areas, and, thanks to
the inclusionary policy, 20 percent of new units are set aside at prices
affordable for families making 65 percent or less of the city’s Area Median
Income (AMI). To date (May, 2007), more than 1,290 affordable homes
(See photo gallery for examples) have been built under this program. (Click here to view a list of affordable
housing in the NCFUA.)
Citywide program
In June, 2003, the City of San Diego adopted an inclusionary housing policy
for the rest of San Diego for developments of two or more homes. This
program ensures that ten percent of the units of every new housing
development built in the City of San Diego will be affordable to lower
income families. (Income limits: households must earn 65 percent or less of
the AMI to be eligible for rental housing and 100 percent of the AMI for
for-sale housing; see AMI chart.) Housing offered for sale to families
earning less than 150% AMI and projects with vested development rates are
exempt from this program. Developers can comply by building on-site or
off-site in the same community. If the developer chooses not to build the
lower-priced housing, an in-lieu fee may be paid. These fees will go into a
new Affordable Housing Fundto be administered by the Housing
Commission to finance affordable housing development.
