Deregulating San Diego
Complete (Chaos in our) Communities
Of all the significant land-use policies approved by the San Diego City Council in 2020 amid COVID lockdowns, the most impactful is Complete Communities Housing Solutions (CCHS), yet most San Diegans are unaware of how CCHS can affect their neighborhoods.
Artist rendering based on actual Complete Communities Housing Solutions allowances.
Photo credit: complete-chaos.com
Complete Communities exempts developers from zoned height and density restrictions. (The artist rendering above is based on actual allowances permitted under CCHS). The entire justification for our City Council to approve these exemptions was that developers would include a meaningful percentage of affordable housing in their CCHS projects.
However, an incredible bait-and-switch took place last December when our City Council sided with developers, voting to remove the on-site requirements for low- and very-low-income units and allowing CCHS developers to place the affordable units "off-site" up to three miles away and up to five years later. These affordable units do not have to be newly constructed or in the same neighborhood as the base project.
All Complete Communities projects under 95 feet are ministerial, meaning you will not be notified that an 8- or 9-story building is coming to a location near you. To add to the chaos, Mayor Gloria recently initiated an executive order to expedite the approval of most CCHS project permits within 30 days.
Development Impact Fees are waived for most CCHS units, meaning minimal funding for much-needed city infrastructure.
Information recently obtained through a Public Records Request by University Heights resident William Ellig shows that on just a partial list of these projects, the city has already waived $17 million in infrastructure fees — funding that would have gone towards badly needed parks, police, fire stations, and more. This is in addition to the city's existing 5+ billion dollar infrastructure deficit.
Here is an interactive map, created by University Heights resident Kristin Harms, documenting CCHS projects that are either approved, in progress, or in preliminary review.
For visuals of the developer giveaway sold as Complete Communities Housing Solutions, visit this website published by San Diegans for Responsible Growth: