San Diego County is focusing on building new housing units to address the ongoing housing crisis, but the question remains: how many homes are needed to meet the growing demand? The County’s Housing Blueprint, a comprehensive plan developed over two years, outlines the gap between the increasing number of households and the limited housing units built in the past three decades. With only 93,000 homes permitted for construction while the number of households grew by 273,000, the shortage has kept rental vacancies below 1%, leading to skyrocketing rent prices, particularly affecting low-income families.
To combat these challenges, the County must build at least 171,685 new units by 2029, with 99,000 designated as affordable housing for those meeting specific income requirements. The blueprint also highlights the critical need for county-level subsidies, estimating $151 million to support the construction of 1,600 affordable units in unincorporated areas, with an additional $182 million needed for projects within city limits. However, the progress is slow, with only 190 of the planned 1,834 units for extremely low- and very-low-income households approved.
The Housing Blueprint offers a five-part framework to address the crisis, focusing on equity, sustainability, and housing production across income levels. Strategies include streamlining development processes, protecting tenants from displacement, and utilizing surplus public land for new housing projects. The blueprint also suggests creating a “Housing Strategy Office” to coordinate efforts and proposing a ballot measure to secure long-term funding for affordable housing. These initiatives aim to close the gap and ensure that San Diego County can meet its housing needs.
