City Requires Affordable Component or Compensation

SAN DIEGO-City officials have approved new rules requiring developers to set aside a portion of the dwellings they build for low-and moderate-income households–or pay hefty fees to help finance affordable housing elsewhere.

The council also declared a “housing state of emergency” at a meeting that drew more than 1,000 people from the multifamily and residential building industry, as well as buyers and tenants. Local housing advocates have tried for more than a decade to get affordability mandates from the city.

Both housing activists and building industry officials used words like “historic” to describe the City Council action Tuesday. Dismissing the concerns of building industry officials, the council voted 7-2 to support the affordable housing requirements. Mayor Dick Murphy and Councilman Jim Madaffer opposed the measures.