San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is giving his State of the City address Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Balboa Theater in downtown. The mayor is expected to talk about homelessness, housing and the city’s budget. This is Gloria’s last State of the City address before seeking a second and final term. Watch the livestream here.
Homelessness
Since the last State of the City address, the city opened two safe camping sites on the outskirts of Balboa Park, where more than 500 people are now staying in tents. The mayor also adopted a ban on camping in the public right-of-way and he is hoping to open a new shelter near the airport sometime this year. The proposed shelter in Point Loma received some pushback from community members.
Housing
Moments before stepping on stage to deliver the State of the City in 2023, Gloria signed an executive order directing all relevant city departments to complete their review and approve 100% affordable housing projects within 30 days — a process that otherwise could take upwards of six months.
However, the rate of home building has remained far below what the city and county require, said Ray Major, chief economist for the San Diego Association of Governments. He estimated the region has a deficit of 100,000 housing units.
Also this year, the City Council approved Gloria’s sweeping Housing Action Package 2.0, which is intended to expedite new units constructed across the city to help seniors, students and middle-income families.
Budget
In regards to the city’s budget, Gloria is proposing a one-cent sales tax to help the city overcome its chronic deficits. He’s hoping to convince the City Council to put that question before voters this November.
