CONNECT with the CityHow We’re Planning for Homes & Jobs
Initiatives in Progress
Ongoing Work
Recent Initiatives Approved by City CouncilTo tackle the housing crisis and allow for more homes that San Diegans of all income levels can afford, the City Planning Department provides incentives and policy tools to accelerate housing production and streamline development permitting.
With many San Diegans struggling to keep up with the rising cost of housing, we’re focused on promoting more homes near transit, keeping people from being priced out of their homes, providing more homes for families and making it easier to provide moderate- and low-income housing options. The City Planning Department’s policies are also focused on providing homes for vulnerable populations including seniors, people with disabilities and people experiencing homelessness.
Learn more below about our planning initiatives that support homes for San Diegans at a price they can afford.
Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) Grant – Round 2
The City of San Diego will be applying for the Housing and Urban Development’s Pro Housing Round 2 grant to support the Small-scale Neighborhood Homes Initiative and for financial assistance for Development Impact Fees (DIFs).
Annual Report on Homes
The Annual Housing Report summarizes the yearly progress made toward regional housing production goals. It provides information to measure the progress of recent City initiatives and those in development.
Community Plan Updates
Community Plan Updates envision the development of active, pedestrian-oriented areas to support opportunities for homes, jobs and mixed-use development along transit corridors. Community plans serve as the long-range vision for land use, mobility, urban design, public facilities, historic and cultural resources and economic development.
General Plan
The City of San Diego's General Plan is the comprehensive guide for development, providing policy guidance to address the needs of a growing city while enhancing quality of life for current and future San Diegans over the next 20 to 30 years. This comprehensive plan is the foundation upon which all land use decisions in the City are based. It addresses how to allow for more homes, provide convenient and sustainable transportation options, preserve the environment, ensure high-quality public facilities and services and support the local economy. The General Plan includes the City of Villages strategy which focuses growth into mixed-use villages activity centers that are pedestrian-friendly districts, of different scales, linked to the regional transit system.
Housing Toolkit
The Housing Affordable Toolkit is a guide created for homeowners, property owners and developers to help easily understand existing City programs to build affordable housing.
Land Development Code
The City makes updates to the Land Development Code on an annual basis. These updates include clarifications, regulatory reform and changes to bring the City in compliance with state law and ensure consistency with the City’s housing, environment, equity and infrastructure goals.
Complete Communities: Housing Solutions
Complete Communities: Housing Solutions is an optional affordable housing incentive program that provides new affordable and market-rate homes near transit, preserves existing affordable rents and establishes a new way to fund neighborhood amenities. It also sets aside resources for investing in active transportation and park amenities within the City’s traditionally underserved communities.
General Plan Refresh (Blueprint SD)
With housing costs rising due in part to the scarcity of homes in San Diego, Blueprint SD will include an amendment to the General Plan to include policies to encourage more home production in areas that can best help us achieve our climate action goals and facilitate transit, bicycle and pedestrian connections. These policies will be applied as part of ongoing and future community plan updates and other land use planning initiatives.
Housing Action Package 2.0
Homes For All of Us is Mayor Gloria’s package of initiatives aimed at producing more homes across the City that San Diegans of all income levels can afford. This includes the Housing Action Package, which aims to implement new state laws related to housing development, align these state law with existing City housing programs, and incentivize and promote new housing opportunities throughout the City.
Housing Element
The Housing Element is the City of San Diego’s comprehensive housing plan. The City is required to adequately plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community and to update its plan every eight years. In the Housing Element, the City identifies enough potentially developable land zoned for residential use to meet the City’s new Regional Housing Needs Assessment housing capacity/production target. It also provides goals, objectives, policies and programs to meet the housing needs of San Diegans.