New Data Shows Growing Shortfall of Affordable Housing in San Diego, Underscores Dire Need for Funding Construction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 9, 2020

Contact: Tatiana Ambrosius
Cook + Schmid
tambrosius@cookandschmid.com
619-850-4944 (cell)

New Data Shows Growing Shortfall of Affordable Housing in San Diego, Underscores Dire Need for Funding Construction San Diego Housing Federation and Councilmember Chris Ward Call for Council to Put $900 Million Affordable Housing Bond on November 2020 Ballot

SAN DIEGO, CA – The San Diego Housing Federation (SDHF), along with San Diego City Councilmember Chris Ward and the California Housing Partnership (the Partnership), released new data that show the gap in affordable housing is increasing, and called for the City Council to place a $900 million housing bond measure to reduce homelessness on the November 2020 ballot.

“These most recent numbers show that despite all the efforts to provide housing for low-income San Diegans, the situation is actually getting worse,” said Stephen Russell, executive director of the San Diego Housing Federation. “With the economic disruption from Covid-19 we can expect this situation and related homelessness to worsen further, especially for communities of color. We need the resources to build homes for those in need.”

The bond measure proposed by the SDHF and sponsored by Councilmember Chris Ward was approved by the Council Rules Committee and could go before the full Council on July 14.

“San Diego has experienced a housing crisis for more than a decade, and despite numerous actions taken by the State and City, the study unveiled today shows we are falling further behind,” said Councilmember Ward. “The solution to this problem is building more housing and that is what this bond will enable us to do.”

The numbers released today as part of the Partnership’s California Housing Needs Dashboard show that the shortfall in affordable housing climbed to 142,590 in San Diego, up from the previous year’s 137,968. That represents a reversal in a downward trend and a gap that grew by 3.35 percent. Statewide the gap grew by just 0.38 percent. Other key indicators in the data show the strain that the cost of housing imposes on low-income households.

“Only 10% of very low-income households in San Diego County have an affordable home, and 83% of extremely low-income households use more than half of their income to pay for housing costs, drastically reducing their budget for other basic necessities like food and transportation,” said Danielle M. Mazzella, preservation and data manager for the Partnership.

Should it pass, the bond measure would fund the construction of 7,500 housing units and would make San Diego eligible for state and federal matching funds. A survey conducted last May showed that more than two-thirds of likely San Diego voters would support the SDHF bond measure. The survey also showed that homelessness continued to rank as a top concern for the region.

The Partnership’s data can be viewed at https://chpc.net/housingneeds.

San Diego Housing Federation (SDHF)
The San Diego Housing Federation is the region’s voice for affordable housing. SDHF is committed to increasing the supply of housing for San Diego’s most vulnerable families, seniors, veterans, those living with disabilities, and the recently homeless. For more information visit, www.housingsandiego.org.

California Housing Partnership (The Partnership)
The California Housing Partnership creates and preserves affordable and sustainable homes for Californians with low incomes by providing expert financial and policy solutions to nonprofit and public partners. Since 1988, the Partnership’s on-the-ground technical assistance, applied research, and legislative leadership has leveraged more than $20 billion in private and public financing to preserve and create more than 75,000 affordable homes. For more information about the Partnership and the data dashboard, visit www.chpc.net.

###