The San Diego City Council recently came together and unanimously voted to amend the Mission Valley Community Plan. This plan calls for an increase in mixed-use development that is pedestrian-friendly, while also helping current residents use public transit more efficiently.
The original plan was first approved in 1985 and has already been updated over 20 times since. The new update to the plan changes old zoning ordinances with new designations that will create development for around 28,000 new homes. It also contains plans to add more infrastructure for bicycle and pedestrian use.
This plan will create around 7,000 new jobs according to estimates from SDSU and city officials. Construction is expected to begin in early 2020 and be completed by the mid-2030s.
Due to lack of housing in San Diego, home prices have skyrocketed over the past decades. As it stands right now, only 27 percent of households can afford the county’s median home, which is priced at around $655,000.
San Diego is estimated to have a deficit of nearly 140,000 homes, which would be needed to match the current population growth. In the 1970s and 1980s, the local government issued permits for around 25,000 homes. Since then, San Diego has barely issued the 12,000 permits needed to stay on track with population growth.
As it stands, if San Diego doesn’t spread the development in Mission Valley to the rest of the county, the city could be in for a continued rise in home pricing.
