San Diego Architects Lead Effort To Address Future Housing Shortage

SAN DIEGO COUNTY'S POPULATION IS EXPECTED TO GROW BY MORE THAN 1 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE NEXT 30 YEARS AND IN A REGION ALREADY FACING A HOUSING SHORTAGE WE WILL NEED ANOTHER 40,000 HOUSING UNITS FOR THEM ALL TO HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE. A GROUP OF SAN DIEGO ARCHITECTS HAVE SPENT THE LAST YEAR COMING UP WITH IDEAS ON HOW THE COUNTY CAN ABSORB THAT MUCH MORE HOUSING. AN AVERAGE OF ROUGHLY 12,000 UNITS A YEAR. TURNING THESE FOR OBAMA RESIDENT OF SAN DIEGO CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS. WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM. THAT 12,000 PER YEAR NUMBER, HOW CLOSE ARE WE RIGHT NOW TO MEETING IT WITHOUT CHANGING HOW WE DO THINGS IN SAN DIEGO?I'VE RECENTLY HEARD THAT THE PROJECTIONS FOR THIS 2017 YEARS ABOUT 6000, SO WE ARE ABOUT 6000 OFF OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO AND KEEP THE PACE UP IN ORDER TO MEET THAT DEMAND IN 2050. 2050 IS SOMEWHAT OF A TARGET BECAUSE SAN DIEGO'S NUMBERS FOR THE REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN ARE ALL KIND OF BASED ON THE 2050 MILESTONE DATE.YOU GATHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS FROM AROUND THE COUNTY THIS PAST YEAR TO PLAN OUT HOW THEIR COMMUNITIES SHOULD LOOK BY 2050 BASED ON THEIR LOCAL NEEDS. I'M GUESSING MOST OF THEM ARE NOT EXPERTS IN URBAN PLANNING ARCHITECTURE OR CONSTRUCTION. SO WHAT WAS THAT PROCESS LIKE?THE ARCHITECTS AND STEP IN AS LEADERS ARE IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY ARE STUDYING. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE KIND OF DONE WRONG OVER THE YEARS AS DEVELOPERS AND ARCHITECTS COME TOGETHER AND DESIGN IS WONDERFUL PROJECTS. AND THEN TAKE THEM INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND SAY, THIS IS WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO FOR YOU IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD -- AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD BASICALLY REJECTS IT BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT INCLUDED ARE PART OF THE PROCESS. THIS EFFORT HAS BEEN MUCH MORE GRASSROOTS, INVITING NEIGHBORS INTO THE PROCESS AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE DESIGN DIALOGUE. SO OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR WE HELD NINE WORKSHOPS ONCE A MONTH AND THEY COVER TOPICS AS INFRASTRUCTURE AND FUTURE OF HOUSING AND MODULAR HOUSING AND PUBLIC HEALTH HOMELESSNESS, SENIOR HOUSING. THE GAMUT OF CONVERSATIONS THAT ONE WOULD WANT TO HAVE ABOUT GROWTH IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. SO WHILE THESE ARCHITECTS, SOME OF WHOM HAVE URBAN DESIGN EXPERIENCE. AND SOME OF THEM HAVE SIMPLE BUILDING DESIGN EXPERIENCE. AT THIS LEVEL IT WAS REALLY MORE ABOUT ENGAGING THE PUBLIC AND HELPING THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PROCESS OF DESIGN IS ABOUT. THE PROCESS OF GROWTH IS ABOUT AND THE IMPEDIMENTS AND THE CONCERNS THAT WE REALLY HAVE TO HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN THE COUNTY. AND PERHAPS WHAT KINDS OF MEASURES COULD TAKE LACE GOING FORWARD TO BEGIN TO REDUCE THOSE IMPEDIMENTS, AND TRULY MAKE HOUSING MORE AFFORDABLE.ACCORDING TO YOUR GROUP ALMOST ALL THE SPACE IN SAN DIEGO THAT ARE ZONE FOR HOUSING IS ALREADY OCCUPIED. AND IT IS IMPRACTICAL TO BUILD ON THE ROUGHLY 10% THAT'S LEFT TRADE YOU SAID ONLY MIXED-USE COMMERCIAL AND LIGHT INDUSTRIAL USE LAND IS AVAILABLE. ARE YOU PUSHING TO HAVE THAT LAND REZONED OR POTENTIAL DISPLAY SOME OF THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE IN THOSE PARCELS RIGHT NOW?THERE IS NATURAL ATTRITION AND GROWTH AND THINGS THAT HAPPENED. WE ARE SUGGESTING THAT FROM THE LAND USE CODE POINT OF VIEW, FROM THE ZONING CODE POINT OF VIEW THAT WE BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND HOW GROWTH REST OCCURS IN MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREAS. WE'VE LEARNED MANY THINGS OVER THE YEARS. AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE LEARNED IS THAT IT IS BEST TO PUT THE GREATER POPULATION IF YOU WILL, THE GREATER DENSITY, THE MORE COMPACT LIVING AROUND TRANSIT. AROUND PUBLIC TRANSIT, SO THAT THOSE MORE AFFORDABLE UNITS ARE GENERALLY OCCUPIED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKFORCE HOUSING OR LOW INCOME HOUSING. AND WE ARE EVEN PROPOSING FOR VERY LOW INCOME HOUSING TO BE INTEGRATED IN ALL OF THIS. WE ARE PROPOSING A MIXED-USE OVERLAY SORT OF APPROACH, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE MANY CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITIES AND THE CITY AND THE COUNTY IN THE NEXT YEAR. SO THIS IS A GOING FORWARD PIECE FOR 2018, WHERE WE REALLY HOPE TO HELP THE POWERS THAT BE UNDERSTAND THE GROWTH IS BEST WITHIN 1/2 MILE OF THE MAJOR TRANSIT STOP. THIS IS A BUS STOP OR TROLLEY STOP. NOT NECESSARILY ENTER A NEIGHBORHOOD STOP, BUT A STOP THAT MIGHT BE NEAR COMMERCIAL OR RESIDENTIAL KIND OF MIXED AREA. AND THAT WE WOULD PROVOKE -- PROPOSING WITHIN A HALF-MILE OF THAT STOP, AND THOSE STOPS OR MAYBE EVERY COUPLE OF MILES APART. SO WE ARE NOT PROPOSING TO DENSA FIVE THE ENTIRE REGION. WE ARE SAYING THAT THERE ARE TARGETED AREAS AROUND TRANSIT THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR HOUSING AFFORDABILITY TO OCCUR, AND IN USING THE BIG A AND LITTLE A AFFORDABILITY FOR AFFORDABLE SUBSIDIZE HOUSING TO OCCUR IN THOSE AREAS, ALONG WITH PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING FOR THE HOMELESS.THERE'S BEEN A PUSH THIS PAST YEAR IN SAN DIEGO TO MAKE IT EASIER TO BUILD GRANNY FLATS WHICH SOME DEVELOPERS POINT TO AS A PANACEA FOR SUMMER HOUSING TROUBLES. THE CITY COUNCIL IS CONSIDERING LOWERING SOME FEES FOR GRANNY FLAT CONSTRUCTIONS. EVEN IF THEY DO HAVE MANY OF THESE 4000 UNITS THAT WE NEED COULD REALISTICALLY BE READY FLATS IN THE NEXT 30 YEARS?THE INTERESTING STATISTIC THAT I HAVE LEARNED IS THAT THERE ARE OVER 195,000 SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED LOTS, 5000 FT.² OR HIGHER THAT WOULD ACCEPT A GRANNY FLAT NOW A GRANNY FLAT CAN BE ANYWHERE BETWEEN 250 FT.² AND 1200 FT.². THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SET OUT AN ORDINANCE MANDATE TO THE CITIES OF CALIFORNIA LAST DECEMBER STATING THAT THEY MUST CREATE NEW ORDINANCES REGULATING AND INCENTIVIZING GRANNY FLATS IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS AROUND TO ACCOMMODATE THE FUTURE GROWTH THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. THESE UNITS ARE AS FAR AS THE BUILDING IS CONCERNED COST BETWEEN $15,000 AND 60 MAYBE $70,000 TO PUT IN YOUR BACKYARD. RIGHT NOW THE PERMITS VARY BETWEEN $5000 AND $80,000. SO IN SOME CASES YOU WILL SPEND MORE FOR THE BUILDING PERMITS THAN YOU WILL FOR THE UNIT ITSELF. AND THE STATE IS NOT HAPPY WITH THAT. THE STATE HAS MANDATED THAT THERE BE A FLAT RATE, AND THE RECOMMENDED FLAT RATE IS $2000.I'VE BEEN SPEAKING WITH BILBO THE PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS IN SAN DIEGO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.MY PLEASURE.