In a unanimous decision reached yesterday, the San Diego City Council adopted a new ordinance to preserve affordable housing in the city. According to a post by Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, the Affordable Housing Preservation Ordinance will maintain the affordability of housing units with current deed restrictions, ensuring rents remain within reach for those with lower incomes. This move will provide enduring benefits for families and the broader community.
With the support of Councilwoman Vivian Moreno, who proposed the ordinance expands state laws to safeguard the long-term availability of very-low, low-and moderate-rate housing better. This includes the requirement for owners to issue an advance notice when intending to sell housing that fits under these definitions, irrespective of any approaching expiration date on the affordability aspect. The ordinance is engineered to give tenants and cities the ability to make an offer on such properties.
"This ordinance will keep San Diegans from losing the affordable homes they live in," said Councilwoman Moreno, as per Times of San Diego. Moreno is also quoted highlighting the shortage of affordable homes and the urgent need for tools to maintain the homes built with public funding. Existing state law mandates that property owners submit various notices of intent to sell or convert to market- or luxury-rate housing units, with the initial notice needing to be issued three years before the rental restrictions expire.
Council President Joe LaCava commended the San Diego Housing Commission for its role in collaboratively devising a mechanism designed to prevent people from being displaced and keep housing affordable for subsequent generations. However, it should be noted that if a property owner desires to sell within the five years alluded to in state law, notices must still be issued under the superseding state requirements. "There is a hole in San Diego’s affordable housing bucket," Council President Pro Tem Kent Lee told the Times of San Diego, emphasizing the city's loss of affordable homes and the significance of this ordinance in that context.
In the lead-up to the ordinance, the San Diego Housing Commission conducted 15 meetings with various stakeholders, including the California Apartment Association and San Diego Regional Policy & Innovation Center, to receive feedback on how to craft the ordinance best. SDHC President and CEO Lisa Jones pointed to the importance of preserving affordable housing and expressed anticipation for aiding the council in future preservation efforts.
