Encinitas City Council is putting a pause on pursuing an affordable housing project on an empty, city-owned lot on Quail Gardens Drive. Instead, the council says it wants to keep its options open.
Last week, the council decided not to abandon the idea of a 100 percent affordable housing project on a city-owned property known as L-7, but it isn’t ready to fully commit to this site just yet.
City leaders aren’t nixing the plan to create a 100 percent affordable housing project because city leaders want to avoid an affordable housing deficit and stay in compliance with the state’s so-called No Net Loss law.
The No Net Loss law says the assumptions cities make in their housing elements must reflect what gets built. A housing element is a plan outlining how a city can accommodate enough new housing to meet its population’s needs. It’s required by state law.
In other words, the amount and types of housing cities plan for in their housing element must match up with the housing that’s being produced.
Let’s rewind: Encinitas must make way for 1,554 total housing units according to its approved housing element, and 838 are supposed to be low-income.
In March 2023, city staff said Encinitas was on track to meet its goals for moderate-income units and above moderate-income units, which is defined as 120 percent of the area median income or more. But staff warned that Encinitas was in danger of triggering the No Net Loss law because the city wasn’t keeping up with the 838 low- and very low-income units it promised in its housing element. Very low income is 50 percent of the area median income, and low income is up to 80 percent.
Encinitas considers its area median income $119,500, a number it bases on the county’s latest annual calculation.
Now the city is in a better position than it was a year ago, according to recent numbers provided to Voice of San Diego, but there’s still a chance the city may fall short of its goals.
How did we get here? When crafting its housing element, Encinitas identified 15 parcels of land available and suitable for affordable housing.
When the city first identified the 15 sites for low-income housing it assumed 100 percent affordability on all of them, meaning it predicted all 15 sites would be made up entirely of low-income units.
But of the 12 sites that have been developed or are pending development, only one has been 100 percent affordable so far: a 61-unit apartment complex near the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, according to city records.
The other 11 developments have only included 15 to 20 percent affordable units, in line with the city’s inclusionary policy.
Inclusionary housing requires developers to set aside a certain number of units as low income or pay a fee. In Encinitas, the inclusionary housing requirement for those who choose to include affordable units is 15 percent for very low-income and 20 percent for low-income units.
Because developers aren’t obligated to create more affordable housing than is required by this policy, almost all the sites approved so far have fallen short of 100 percent affordability.
Where the numbers stand now: The city has three remaining sites waiting to be developed. If all three of those sites are produced with 100 percent affordability, the city will exceed its low-income housing goals by 16 units.
But if only 20 percent of new units on those three remaining sites are affordable units, the city will fall short of its low-income housing goals by 77 units, according to city documents.
That’s why city officials are now considering sites outside of the housing element for a 100 percent affordable housing project that will help them reach their goal, like L-7 on Quail Gardens Drive.
“It is still possible that no net loss could be triggered, but also possible that we could meet [housing numbers] if all projects and (granny flats) are developed as projected,” Lois Yum, a spokesperson for the city manager’s office, wrote in an email. “Any additional affordable unit productions that are not explicitly identified in the housing element, such as other housing projects that propose affordable units through density bonus or a project at L-7, would assist in producing sufficient units to avoid triggering no net loss.”
The latest plans for the L-7 include up to 45 low-income housing units. But many residents oppose the project, expressing concerns of overcrowding in an area already seeing significant housing development, public speakers said at last week’s meeting.
Considering the concerns, the council decided to create a task force to explore other affordable housing options while continuing community outreach on the future of the L-7 site.
In Other News:
- The Oceanside City Council voted to place a salestax extension on the November ballot. If approved, it would extend an existing half-cent sales tax hike for 10 years. (Union-Tribune) Related: Curious how Oceanside has spent more than $100 million in revenue from this sales tax measure so far? Read that story here. (Voice of San Diego)
- North County Supervisor Jim Desmond spoke at a community forum on Sunday about what county leaders hope to do with the Green Oak Ranch property in Vista if the county is selected to purchase it. (Union-Tribune) Related: The county isn’t the sole bidder. The city of Vista and Vista nonprofit Solutions for Change are trying to buy it, too. (Voice of San Diego)
- Vista approved a new cannabis equity program to help low-income residents and those who have been the target of past marijuana laws get started in the industry. (Coast News)
- ICYMI: Escondido officials passed a new public camping ban, becoming the latest San Diego County city to crack down on homeless encampments. (Voice of San Diego)