Inclusionary Housing Ordinance

POD 20-007

Project Contact: Mike Madrid | PDS.LongRangePlanning@sdcounty.ca.gov | (858) 505-6677

Please subscribe here to be informed of all future outreach events and to receive updates related to this project. 

Overview

The County of San Diego Planning & Development Services Department (PDS) is conducting an Inclusionary Housing Study and Ordinance Development. The purpose of this project is to assess feasible options for requiring housing projects to provide affordable housing, and develop an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance that addresses the County’s housing needs. The overall goal is to expand the supply of affordable housing for households of lower- and moderate-income.  

The scope of the project includes a study to evaluate best practices research and an economic analysis to evaluate factors specific to the unincorporated County’s housing market. Study findings will inform the development of program options and help shape recommendations for the Board of Supervisors’ (Board) consideration. 

The Housing Study and Ordinance Development project includes two phases. Phase I, which was completed and presented to the Board on February 10, 2021 (4), focused on the preparation of an economic analysis for an inclusionary housing program criteria that would be applicable to housing projects seeking a General Plan Amendment (GPA).

Phase II is currently underway, and includes the update of the economic analysis previously presented to the Board and the development of a Draft Ordinance and Menu of Program Criteria applicable to non-GPA housing projects, as well as Menu of Program Criteria specifically tailored to GPA projects.

Public Hearings

Planning Commission Hearing

On April 19, 2024 the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance was presented at the Planning Commission Hearing. The Commission voted 3-1 to recommend that the Board of Supervisors defer the consideration of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance until after the Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy is adopted in the County. The staff presentation and staff report are both available online.

Board of Supervisors Hearing

On August 28, 2024 the San Diego County (County) Board of Supervisors (Board) heard and considered proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance to adopt an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance which would apply to new housing development in the unincorporated areas of the County. The recording of the meeting and the staff report (Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, Item 11) are both available online.

The Board of Supervisors directed staff to return following presentations on the Development Feasibility Analysis (DFA) and Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) with options that include the following considerations:

(a) Ensure overall housing production is not negatively impacted.

(b) Align with state density bonus law.

(c) Include considerations for phasing-in the program to allow time for land values to adjust to the program.

(d) Continue to Engage with experts and community.

(e) Provide inclusionary housing production estimates for each of these options, including middle income home ownership.

(f) Development incentives that include infrastructure that can be provided in Option 3 to maximize units in the VMT Efficient and Infill areas, concurrent with the Development Feasibility Analysis for these areas.

(g) Off-site development should be within a radius of 3 miles or the vicinity of the community planning area.

To stay informed of all future outreach events and to receive updates related to this project, please subscribe here.

Public Review

The Draft Inclusionary Housing Ordinance (Draft Ordinance) was made available for public review for a 45-day period from January 20, 2023, until March 7, 2023. Please note that the Draft Ordinance includes programmatic options (language in blue) which may be directed by the Board of Supervisors. A Public Input Guide was developed to help you understand how you can provide your comments on these areas. Below please find the materials:

Inclusionary Housing Draft Ordinance and Guide for Public Input (here). This document shows the Draft Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. This is a completely new ordinance that is being added to the Zoning Ordinance under Title 6341. The Draft Ordinance also proposed to amend Sections 1100 and 7430 of the Zoning Ordinance. The Public Input Guide provides an overview of the programmatic options that may be directed by the Board of Supervisors as part of the adoption of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. The goal of this document is to help you provide input on these programmatic options.
- State law requires that an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance include an alternative compliance option for projects that cannot include the affordable housing units on site. The Draft Ordinance provides options for where certain types of alternative compliance methods would apply, including land donation, off-site development, and rehabilitation of units. Location criteria maps (here).
Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, Economic Analysis (here). This is the full economic analysis that was prepared to evaluate feasible options for requiring new development to provide affordable housing.

Environmental Documentation (here). An Addendum pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15164 was prepared for this project.

If you have any questions related to any of this information provided in the document or would like to provide comments, please reach out to Mike Madrid at PDS.LongRangePlanning@sdcounty.ca.gov, or Phone: (858) 505-6677. You may also request to schedule a meeting with county staff to further discuss the materials available for public review.

Please subscribe to receive updates on the project and upcoming outreach events.

Public Outreach

The success of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance requires extensive community input and engagement. There will be multiple opportunities to participate throughout the process. Please see below for information related to our previous outreach events.

Public Outreach (Phase II)

Public Meeting: June 12, 2024

Staff held a public meeting where members of the public had the opportunity to learn more and ask questions about the draft Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. Staff provided an overview of the components of the draft Inclusionary Housing Ordinance and on programmatic options to be presented to the Board.

Planning Commission Workshop - March 24, 2023:

Staff held a workshop with the Planning Commission to discuss the Draft Inclusionary Housing Ordinance and Criteria Options. This meeting provided an opportunity for the Planning Commission and the public to review and give additional input on the program components, including items such as the proportion and affordability level of the required affordable units, as well as alternative compliance options such as in-lieu fees, land donations, and allowing offsite affordable housing development. The input received will be used to refine the Draft Ordinance and Criteria options which will be presented to the Planning Commission and Board at a future hearing. For additional information, please visit the Planning Commission website.

Public Meeting: March 1, 2023

PDS hosted a public workshop open to all members of the public to review the draft ordinance and criteria options and to receive additional public feedback. Staff took polls on individual parts of the proposed ordinance and answered questions from members of the public. A video recording of the meeting can be found below.

Public Meeting: June 29, 2022

In June 2022, the County hosted a Public Meeting via webinar to discuss Phase II of the Inclusionary Housing Program. This webinar covered the project’s background and objectives and provided an interactive forum to collect input on options to provide affordable housing.  

Please watch the webinar recordings associated with Phase II below and send us your comments! 

To review the PowerPoint Presentation, please click here.

Staff prepared a Q&A document that provides answers and clarifications to questions received during the webinar. To review the document, please click here.

The County will continue to receive input on the Inclusionary Housing Program potential program options during Phase II. Please subscribe to receive updates on the project and upcoming outreach events.

Public Outreach (Phase I) 

In December 2020, the County hosted two webinars to discuss the Phase I. The webinars provided an interactive forum to answer questions and collect public input on potential program options. The County will continue to receive input on potential program options during Phase II.  

Please watch the webinar recordings associated with Phase I below:

Public Meeting: December 7th, 2020

Public Meeting: December 9th, 2020

Project Background & Board Direction

With rising housing costs and increasing numbers of San Diegans spending more than thirty percent of their income on housing, in 2018, the Board directed staff to investigate options to further promote the expedient building of homes in the unincorporated area. On October 10, 2018 (2), the Board directed staff to prepare an economic analysis and criteria and return to the Board for consideration for a GPA Affordable Housing Program and a GPA Inclusionary Ordinance.

On February 10, 2021 (4), staff presented the results of the economic analysis (Phase I). During this meeting, the Board directed staff to staff to develop an Inclusionary Ordinance with predetermined set-aside applicable to all housing projects of all sizes above a minimum threshold. On August 31, 2021 (7), the Board added to this direction and requested that staff also evaluate and identify options to for the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance to capture value tied to significant upzonings as a part of GPAs.  

Please see below for documents associated with the above-mentioned Board directions:

Housing Affordability Strategy Board Hearing – October 10, 2018 (2):

Inclusionary Housing Study Phase I – February 10, 2021 (4):

Transformative Housing Solutions that Advance Equity, Sustainability, and Affordability for all – August 31, 2021 (7):

If you have questions or would like to submit comments, please contact Mike Madrid at PDS.LongRangePlanning@sdcounty.ca.gov  | (858) 505-6677 