SAN DIEGO—Much of the San Diego region is already built out, so to accommodate future growth, each city and the County of San Diego has to step up and accept more housing of every type, the London Group principal Gary London tells GlobeSt.com. London recently moderated a panel here hosted by the Urban Land Institute San Diego–Tijuana District Council that addressed how the County of San Diego will accommodate a "fair share" of the future growth for the region as projected by SANDAG. London has also written a white paper titled "Facts & Implications of Not Meeting Regional Housing Demand." We spoke exclusively with him about some of the points made in the white paper and at the panel discussion. 

GlobeSt.com: Please explain the "sea change" of growth San Diego is undergoing, what is causing it and how we are adapting to it.

London: Throughout the second half of the 20^th Century, at least 70% of our growth came from net in-migration, or new residents. In the 21^st Century, and projected to continue, almost 70% of our growth will be from "natural increase," or more births than deaths. This means that the region will continue to grow, which shifts the responsibility of policymakers to figure out ways to accommodate that growth. The other sea change is that with the critical exception of the County unincorporated lands, most of the remainder of the region is already built out. If the region is to accommodate future growth, each city and the County of San Diego have to step up and accept more housing of every type.

GlobeSt.com: Do you feel Millennials will lean more toward single-family or multifamily housing in San Diego as they begin to raise families?

London: All surveys points to the fact that overwhelmingly Millennials will strive for a single-family home. They may begin their family-rearing years in an apartment or a condo, but ultimately they want to raise their families in a single-family home.

GlobeSt.com: What is the solution to the rising cost of housing development that is causing home prices to rise and be unaffordable to many in San Diego?

London: There are several solutions, beginning with opening up more lands for development, expediting the entitlement process, lowering public fees, planning and zoning for more density and resisting the persistent efforts on the part of NIMBY opponents to limit or eliminate new projects. Developers will undoubtedly attempt to deliver smaller housing units to bring the costs down.

GlobeSt.com: You talk about many projects receiving pushback by residents in San Diego neighborhoods, resulting in either no project or smaller projects being built. How much power do voters have here in preventing projects from being built on private land even after the city approves them?

London: They have unprecedented power through public referendum. They have turned representative democracy on its head in the ability to easily get on the ballot even after a city council approves a project. One clear reform is to "raise the bar" in terms of how many signatures are required to actually qualify for a ballot, not necessarily eliminating referendum completely.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about housing/residential development issues in San Diego?

London: That the gap between income and housing costs have never been higher, and the gap is widening. This is a watershed moment, unprecedented in my long career, where the supply is so low and the cost is so high that the very economic fabric of the region is threatened. People have to draw a straight line between this housing crisis and employment growth and our ability to sustain our economy.